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ECONOMIC HISTORY

VIRGINIA IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

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ECONOMIC HISTORY

OP

VIRGINIA IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

AX INQUIRY INTO THE MATERIAL CONDITION OF

THE PEOPLE, BASED UPON ORIGINAL AND

CONTEMPORANEOUS RECORDS

PHILIP ALEXANDER BRUCE

Author uf "The Plantation Negro as a Freeman," and CoERESPONDiNti Secretary of the Virginia Historical Society

VOLUME il.

Nctu gork MACMILLAN AND CO.

AND LONDOX

189(;

Alt rights renerced

COPTEIGHT, 1896,

bt macmillan and CO.

Xotteooti 53rcss

J. S. Cushing & Co. — Berwick & Sn Norwood Mas3. U.S.A.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTEE X.

PAGE

System of Labor : the Servant — continued .... 1

CHAPTER XL System of Labor : the Slave 57

CHAPTER XIL Domestic Economy of the Planter 131

CHAPTER XIII. Domestic Economy of the Planter — continued. . . .197

CHAPTER XIV. Relative A^alue of Estates 242

CHAPTER XV. Manufactured Supplies : Foreign 258

CHAPTER XVL

Manufactured Supplies: Foreign — continued .... 331 V

VI CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XVII.

PAGE

Manufactured Supplies : Domestic 392

CHAPTER XVIII. Manufactured Supplies : Domestic — continued .... 440

CHAPTER XIX. Monet 495

CHAPTER XX. The Town 522

CHAPTER XXI. Conclusion

Index 581

ECONOMIC HISTOEY OF VIEGINIA

CHAPTER X

SYSTEM OF LABOR: THE SERVANT — continued

The ordinary indenture was marked by great simplicity. When it was drawn previous to the departure of the ser- vant from England, it named as the consideration for the right to his labor, payment of the cost of transportation, a sufficient quantity of drink, food, and clothing during the continuation of the term, together with lodgings and whatever else was thought to be essential to liis liveli- hood. ^ It was always in the power of those assuming the

1 For the indenture of an ordinaiy servant, see Neill's Virginia Caro- lomm, p. 57 ; see also Becords of York County, vol. 1087-1691, p. 38, Va. State Library. The following is an interesting example of the indenture of a planter's apprentice : " This Indenture made the 6tl! day of June in the year of our Lord Christ 1659, witnesseth, that Bartholomew Clarke ye Son of John Clarke of the City of Canterbury, Sadler, of his own liking and with ye consent of Francis Plumer of ye City of Canterbury, Brewer, hath put himself apprentice unto Edward Rowzie of Virginia, planter, as an ap- prentice with him to dwell from ye day of the date above mentioned unto ye full term of four years from thence next ensuing fully to be complete and ended, all which said term the said Bartholomew Clarke well and faithfully the said Edward Rowzie as his master shall serve, his secrets keep, his commands most just and lawful he shall observe, and fornica- tion he shall not commit, nor contract matrimony with any woman dur- ing the said tenn, he shall not do hurt unto his master, nor consent to ye doing of any, but to his power shall hinder and prevent ye doing of any;

VOL. II. B 1

2 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

obligations of an instrument of this character by mutual consent to insert unusual conditions as to what was to be done by either party for the special advantage of the other before or during its operation and at the expiration of the time which it covered. Thus the servant, in entering into covenants with a merchant or shipmaster engaged in the A^irginian trade, could insist upon the privilege of hav- ing the interval of a fortnight at least in which to make inquiries concerning the characters of the different plant-

at cards, dice or any unlawful games he shall not play ; he shall not waste the goods of his said master nor lend them to anybody without his master's consent, he shall not absent himself from his said master's ser- vice day or night, but as a true and faithful servant, shall demean him- self, and the said Edward Rowzie in ye mystery, art, and occupation of a planter which now . . . the best manner he can, the said Bartholomew shall teach or cause to be taught, and also during said term shall find and allow his apprentice competent meat, drink, apparel, washing, lodging with all other things fitting for his degree and in the end thereof, fifty acres of land to be laid out for him, and all other things which according to the custom of the country is or ought to be done." Becords of Bap- pahannoch County, vol. 1664-1673, p, 21, Va. State Library. The follow- ing is an indenture drawn up for a female servant : ' ' This Indenture made the Second of Jany in ye year 1686 between John Porter of ye one party, and Samuel Polly of ye other party, both of ye County of Henrico in James River in manner and form following, witnesseth, that ye said John Porter doth covenant, grant and agree to and with ye s** Sam" Polly to take his daughter Mary Polly for ye full end and term of ten years from ye 1^' month September in ye year 1685, In consideration ye s^ John Porter shall use or maintain ye s<i Mary noe other ways than he doth his own in all things as dyett, cloathing and lodging, the s** Mary to obey the s<i John Porter in all his lawful commands within ye s^^ term of years above menconed as also att ye full end and term of years that ye s<i John Porter doth bind himself his executors or administrators to pay unto ye said Mary Polly, three barrells of corn and one suit of penistone and one suit of good serge with one black hood, two shifts of dowlas and shoes and hose convenient. And ye said Sam' Polly doth assure and bind firmly his s<i daughter to ye said Porter for ye full end of ten years by these presents whereunto both the s*! partyes have set their hands." Becords of Henrico County, vol. 1677-1692, p. 424, Va. State Library.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 6

ers and then of disposing of himself to the one he should select. 1

Both master and servant could protect themselves from every form of encroachment upon each other. It was, for instance, in the power of the master to require that the servant should pay double the value of the labor of every day he lost for avoidable causes, and if this happened to be in the harvest time, the sum was to be increased by ten. On the other hand, the servant might covenant that he should not be compelled to plant and tend to more than two hundred weight of tobacco during any one year, this being a much smaller task than was usually imposed upon individuals of his class. ^

Many controversies arose between masters and servants who had been introduced without indentures, as to the time when their terms ought to expire, and this led to the passage of a large number of important acts. The rule which prevailed at first was that every member of the latter class who had been imported into Virginia without written covenants, should be bound for a period of four years if his age was in excess of twenty-one, five if he was under twenty, and seven if under twelve.^ The provisions of this statute were substantially modified in 1654 so far as aliens were involved. When the latter had come in without indentures, they were required, if more than six- teen years old, to remain in the employment of the planter to whom they were assigned, for a term of six years. If the person in question was under sixteen, this term was extended until he had attained his twenty-fourth year.* It was found that this law worked to the disadvantage of

1 Leah and Rachel, p. 11, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III.

2 Bullock's Virginia, p. 63.

3 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 257.

4 Ibid., p. 411.

4 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

the Colony by retarding its growth in population, the length of service expected of aliens discouraging their emigration to Virginia in the character of laborers. It was decided to place all servants of whatever nationality upon the same footing, no disparaging distinction being allowed in dealing with any class of them.^

In the season of 1661-62, an important change was made in the general law that prevailed, by the adoption of the regulation on the same point which had long been in operation in England ; it was provided that all servants who were imported without written agreements should be bound for a term of five years if more than sixteen years old, or if less than sixteen, until the completion of the twenty-fourth year.^ Every master who had intro- duced a laborer into the Colony or who had purchased one from a merchant or shipowner, there being no indent- ure in either case, was directed to bring him before the nearest court with a view to having his age adjudged. If the master failed to conform to this general order, the servant, although he may not have attained his twelfth year, was considered to be bound only for the term which would have been required of him if he had been adjudged in court to have passed his sixteenth year. Four months was the limit in which it was permitted to conform to the order of the justices. It was discovered that the law as to length of service in the absence of indentures, operated with great harshness in the case of a youth who had been declared to be only a few months under sixteen, since it compelled him to remain in the employment of his master until his twenty-fourth year, while a companion, whose age was only a few weeks in advance of sixteen years» was in consideration of tliat

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 539.

2 Ibid., vol. II, pp. 113, 114.

SYSTEM OF LABOR - 5

fact called upon to serve only until lie was .twenty-two. The law was amended in 1666 to the effect that all who were imported without indentures should, if they were nineteen years of age or above, continue with their masters for a term of five years, and if under that age, until the completion of their twenty-fourth year.^

It became extremely common for those who had been sold in accord with the custom of the country, to wait very quietly until the persons who had brought them in and the ships in which they had come over, had left for England, and then to advance the claim of having been introduced under indentures which were lost, but which if produced would show that they were bound to serve for a shorter time than was now required of them. To remove the confusion and annoyance arising from this source, it was provided that any one who had presumably been imported without formal covenants, from the fact that he had been disposed of by the custom, should be carried before the nearest justice of the peace, and if it was alleged that he had originally bound himself by a written agreement for a regular term, he was to be allowed one month in which to produce the document, or sufficient evidence of its former existence, and if in that length of time the claim could not be sustained in the manner required, he was to be debarred from urging it a second time.^

Whether the servant was bound to a master by an indenture which laid down in the clearest language the full nature of their mutual relations or simply by the cus- tom of the country, he had a legal as well as a moral right to expect that provision would be made for his comfort-

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 240 ; Beverley's History of Virginia, p. 219.

- Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 297.

6 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

able existei:^pe, in the form of victuals, apparel, and lodging. During the administration of the Company, he subsisted on hominy boiled with milk alone, or with milk, butter, and cheese, or with fish and the flesh of bullocks.^ He was supplied with a definite quantity of corn by the week, amounting, as a rule, probably to fourteen cans, this being the allowance for that length of time in the case of the servants employed in working the lands of Martin's Hun- dred. ^ A graphic account of his food and clothing in 1622 has been transmitted to us in a letter Avritten in that year by a young man of this class. The author's spirits at the time of its composition were greatly depressed, but the details which he gives, instead of conveying the impression that the laborers at this period were very meanly situated, rather raises our conception of the advan- tages which they enjoyed. It should be remembered that the letter bore the date of the year in wliich the great massacre of the settlers by the Indians occurred, when the losses attending that event and the confusion follow- ing it, very naturally produced a condition of extraordi- nary hardship in the Colony, among masters as well as among servants.^ In times marked by peace and abun- dance, such as those immediately preceding the massacre or following it at a long interval, the various articles given the laborer either for subsistence or comfort must have been greater in quantity and better in quality. Richard Frethorne, the author of the letter referred to, declared that his food consisted of peas and loblolly, that is, a mass of gruel, chowder, or spoon meat, with one-fourth of a loaf

1 Works of Capt. John Smith, p. 886.

2 Examinations, etc., Concerning Demands of Captain Martin, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. Ill, No. 3G, IV ; McDonald Papers, vol. I, p. 190, Va. State Library.

3 Letter of Thomas Best, Boyal Hist. MS 8. Commission, Eighth Re- port, Appx. p. 41.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 7

of bread and a small piece of beef. This seems to have been the allowance for a single meal. The loaf was most probably Indian corn bread, flour not being easily procur- able in that age. Bread made of Indian corn, it should be remembered, is one of the most concentrated forms of nourishment, and one-fourth of a loaf of the ordinary size Vould be sufficient for an ordinary man. Frethorne makes it plain that he belonged to a higher class than that of the agricultural servant in England — indeed, he appears to have been the son either of a tenant farmer or a small landowner — by seriously lamenting that his master did not give him a penny "to help him to spice, sugar, or strong waters." He prays that his father will send him some cheese. For clothing he stated that he had received one suit, one cap and two bands, and one pair of stockings. Some thief had stolen his cloak. i The profound dissatis- faction felt by Frethorne was that of a sensitive mind suffering from homesickness and exposed to unaccustomed conditions. How many workingmen were there in Eng- land who would not gladly have exchanged the starvation against which they were constantly contending for the situ- ation in which he was placed? I have already referred to the cases mentioned by Copeland, in which some of the most industrious laborers of London were only able to secure brown bread and cheese for their families. ^ The

1 The letter will be found in Eighth Report of Boyal Hist. MSS. Com- mission, Appx., p. 41. It is reprinted in Neill's Virginia Vetusta. Henry Brigg, who was a servant in Virginia during the spring of 1623, writing to his brother in England, said that at this time he was living on a wine- quart of corn a day. Boyal Hist. MSS. Commission, Eighth Report, Appx., p. 42.

2 The ordinary victuals of an English thatcher, who probably was provided with better food than the common agricultural laborer, was, in 1641, butter, milk, cheese, and either eggs, pies, or bacon. Porridge was sometimes substituted for milk. Cunniiigliam's Groivth of English In- dustry and Commerce, p. l'J3.

8 ECONOlNnC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

food might have seemed poor and the clothing scant to a youth brought up in an English home of a moderate degree of refinement and with every reasonable comfort, but to the English Hodge, who tilled the fields at the rate of wages prescribed by the justices of the peace, the very lowest which would enable him to earn a subsistence for his family, and in only too many cases not affording hiA this without the aid of the levy for the benefit of paupers, the provision made for the servant in Virginia in the most frightful year in the history of the Colony does not appear to sliow that his position was as mean and intolerable as it was represented to be. This was the age in which Henry IV of France had won the lasting gratitude of his countrymen, in expressing the hope that under his administration of the affairs of his kingdom every French peasant would be so prosperous that he could without extravagance have a fowl in the pot on Sunday. ^

As early as 1661, at a time when the live stock of the Colony were far less numerous then they became in the closing decades of the seventeenth century, it was the custom in York County to give the servants rations of meat at least three times a week.^ It could not have been many years before this allowance was extended to each day in consequence of the enormous increase in the herds of hogs and horned cattle.

The character of the clothing worn by the servants is shown in an advertisement for the recovery of two run- aways, placed on record in York County in 1691. The garments of one consisted in part of a coat, made of frieze^ a black hat and a pair of wooden heel shoes ; of the other, of a frieze coat, a pair of leather breeches, a cap of

1 Henry IV of France died in IGIO.

- liecords of York County, vol. 1G57-1662, p. 384, Va. State Li- brary.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 9

fur, and a pair of plain shoes. The under linen was of dowlas and lockram.^

The author of Leah and Machel, a pamphlet pub- lished about the middle of the century, denied very emphatically the .correctness of the report prevailing at that time in England that the servants in Virginia were compelled to sleep on boards by the fireplace instead of in comfortable beds. The best indication of the treatment which they received in the way of physical comforts, as he averred, was the general satisfaction expressed by all persons of this class who had been recently imported, a satisfaction which had led them to use their influence with friends and acquaintances in the mother country to induce them to emigrate to the Colony. ^ The author of Public Good ivitliout Private Interest went so far as to charge the planters with forcing the laborers in their employment to " lie by all the time of their servitude on ash heaps or otherwise to kennel up and down like dogs." If this occurred, it was only in rare cases, for the General Assembly had always shown a remarkable solici- tude to furnish every means as a protection for those who

1 Eecords of York County, vol. 1694-1697, p. 118, Va. State Library. Among the items in a statement of Edward Moss of York County, show- ing his expenditures on account of his servant, Richard Stephens, were the following : for a pair of shoe strings, 3 lbs. of tobacco ; for a peniston coat, 60 lbs. of tobacco ; for a dowlas shirt, 50 lbs. of tobacco. Vol. 1G57- 1662, p. 411, Va. State Library. The following from the records of the General Court, Dec. 11, 1640, preserved in a minute in the Robinson Transcripts, p. 8, is also of interest : " Whereas William Huddleston, servant unto Mr. Canhow, hath complained to the board against his mas- ter for want of all manner of apparel, the court hath, therefore, ordered that the said Canhow shall before Christmas next provide and allow unto the said Huddleston such sufficient apparel of linen and woollen as shall be thought fit by Captain "William West or otherwise that the said Cap- tain West shall have power to di-spose of the said servant until the said Canhow do perforin this order."

- Leah and Rachel, p. 12, Force's Historical J^acts, vol. III.

10 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

were bound by indenture, being prompted to this line of conduct not only by an impulse of common humanity, but also by a desire to remove every obstacle and repress every influence tending to discourage the growth of popu- lation. They were also commanded by the English author- ities to suppress all inhuman severity towards servants.^ The people of Virginia, the author of Leah and RacheU the pamphlet already quoted, remarked, were Christians. While there may have been a disposition on the part of some to overlook the obligations which they had assumed towards their laborers, the enlightened spirit of the laws in this connection proved conclusively that the sentiment of the planters at large was sternly condemnatory of any abridgment of the usual comforts of this class. . It was provided that every master should allow his servants suffi- cient food, clothing, and shelter, and that in inflicting pun- ishment he should be careful not to exceed the bounds of moderation. If the servant had just grounds for thinking that he was deprived of his necessary amount of food, or that the house set apart for him did not furnish a suffi- cient protection from the weather, or that the correction he received for his negligence was harsher than the char- acter of the offence called for, he possessed the right, which had been expressly granted to him, to enter a com- plaint with the commissioners of the court for the county in which his master resided. If, upon a hearing, this complaint seemed just, the latter was required to appear at the following session and defend his conduct, and if he failed to show good cause, was compelled to give ample satisfaction for the charges against him.^ These provi-

1 Instructions to Culpeper, 1679, McDonald Papers, vol. V, p. 318, Va, State Library.

2 Leah and Rachel, p. 16, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III. In April, 1658, Nicholas Smith, a servant of Thomas Brookes, of York

SYSTEM OF LABOR 11

sions, which Vv^ere well calculated to afford the servant absolute security in the enjoyment of every comfort that he could reasonably claim, were in operation during the remainder of the century, and if in any case he suffered, it was to be attributed to his own supineness and not to any deficiency in the law prescribing the remedy. How great was the solicitude of the General Court to ensure him the amplest protection in all of his rights, is shown in the order passed in 1679-80, which forbade a woman who had proved herself a cruel mistress to have ser- vants in her employment.^

The fact that a youthful servant was disposed to run away was often accepted not as an indication of an in- corrigible nature but of hard usage. A case of this kind occurred in Lower Norfolk Eibout the middle of the century. A boy had frequently fled from his mistress, Mrs. Deborah Farneshaugh, seeking refuge in his last flight with a Mrs. Lambard. A complaint was filed in the local court in his behalf, and the judges directed that he should remain with Mrs. Lambard until Mrs. Farne- shaugh should provide him with food, clothing, and other necessaries, of which it was declared that she had deprived him while in her service. A committee was appointed to enforce the order, and upon the continuation of her ill treatment, her right to hold the boy was summarily withdrawn. 2

In the code adopted in 1705, which represented the

County, entered a complaint -with the justices of the peace that he was badly used by his master. Smith was ordered to remain under the pro- tection of the constable, whilst a summons was issued requiring Brookes to appear before the court on the following day to justify his conduct. Vol. 1657-1662, p. 56, Va. State Library.

1 General Court Orders, 1677-1682, Sept. 20, 1680, liubinson Tran- scripts, p. 265.

2 Eecords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1046-1651, f. p. 117.

12 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

sentiment of the Colony in the closing years of the pre- vious century, a sentiment that so far as the servants were concerned was even more enlightened than it had been forty years before, we find all the details of the original statute reenacted, with some additional provi- sions Avhich made the regulations on this point still more effective. No master, for instance, was to be permitted to whip a white servant on the naked back without special authority from the court, and in case this order was disregarded, he was to be mulcted twenty shillings. The justices of the peace were, as formerly, to receive the complaints of all persons under articles of indenture as to unwholesome food, inferior clothing, and uncomfort- able lodging. If there was good reason to suspect that a justice, the justices being generally large landowners, and, therefore, naturally disposed to sympathize with the master rather than with the servant, leaned in any case towards the former without adequate cause, the servant could enter a petition in the county court without the usual delay of a formal process of action.

From this it will be seen that the laborers of Virginia, whether bound by indenture or by the custom of the coun- try, were shielded by laws that recognized the fallibility and selfishness of the local magistrates and provided a remedy as swift and as summary as if a landowner and not a servant had been involved. Under the code of 1705,1 which, as already stated, reflected the state of pub- lic feeling at the close of the seventeenth century as well as at the beginning of the eighteenth, if the servant be- came disabled in consequence of the meagreness of the provisions made for his comfort, or as the result of the punishment to Avhich he might have been subjected on any occasion, he was to be taken away from his master,

1 See General Head "Servants," 1705, Hening's Statutes, vol. III.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 13

and ill case he could not be sold to a second one, turned over to the church wardens of the parish, and until the expiration of his term supported at the expense of his original employer, the amount required for this purpose to be levied, if necessary, upon the employer's distrainable property. If still considered valuable when put up for sale at public auction, and in consequence found a pur- cliaser, the sheriff under authority of the court could compel the original master to make good any deficiency in the charges incurred by the county in maintaining such a servant in the interval during which he continued under its protection. If the disabilities of the servant arose from no fault of the master, but were due to una- voidable causes in the course of nature, he had a claim upon Ids employer for support until the end of his term. This claim the master could not ignore without being exposed to a forfeit of ten pounds sterling annually to the parish, which was required by law to furnish the disabled servant with the necessaries of life in case the master shirked the responsibility of his maintenance.

These enlightened provisions of the code of 1705 were in accord with the general spirit, not only of the laws of 1645, 1657, and 1661, which permitted a servant to com- plain to the nearest commissioner if he Avas denied by a master the ordinary comforts to which he was entitled, but also of a statute of an earlier date prescribing the medical attention he should have a right to expect. The Assem- bly, having reason to believe in 1661 that the exorbitant charges of physicians had caused a large number of the planters to defer calling them in until it was too late to save the lives of their sick laborers, the fee demanded being frequently greater in value than the amount of capital invested in individual servants at the time of pur- chase, adopted a rule to prevent the abuse. It was pro-

14 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

vided that in every case in which a practitioner asked for his medical attention in behalf of persons of this class a remuneration plainly far more than the condition of his patient or the other circumstances of the case justified him in doing, the planter who was the object of the attempted imposition should be allowed the right to summon him to court to explain his conduct. If he failed to do so, it was assumed that he had been actuated simply by a motive of extortion, and was condemned to be punished severely.^

The Assembly did not content itself merely with ensur- ing necessary physical comforts for the servants, or throw- ing safeguards about their health by inflicting penalties for negligence in masters or extortion in medical practi- tioners. It looked also to the improvement of their moral character. In case their servants had never been instructed in the catechism, employers were compelled by the express provisions of the statute law of the Colony to send them to the nearest church, there, in the hour preceding the opening of the exercises of the evening, to be grounded by the minister of the parish in the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and the general articles of belief. ^

The principal labor in which the servant was engaged was the cultivation of tobacco and the removal of the

1 Heniiig's Statutes, vol. I, p. 316.

2 76 id., pp. 181, 182. If a passage in Virginia's Cure can be relied on as accurate, some of the masters were very lax in observing this pro- vision of the law. " Some of the heathen complained that Sunday was the worst day of the seven to them because the servants of the Christian plantations nearest to them being then left at liberty, often spent that day in visiting the Indian towns, to the disquiet of the heathen and to the great scandall of the Christian religion." Virginia's Cure, p. 7, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III. It ought to be remembered in reading this passage that the author of Virginians Cure was seeking to place in the most unfavorable light, the religious condition of the people of the Colony.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 15

forest for the opening up of new g-rouncls. As a rule, white women were not employed in the fields. This was tlie case even in the time of the Company ,i the duties of women being confined to the performance of household duties, to cooking, milking, churning, cleaning, washing, and sewing. 2 It was only when the female servant was an unmitigated slattern in person, offensive in her bearing and dissolute in her conduct, that she was required to do work in the field. Even the strongest of the women were not considered very useful in this sphere, being looked upon as a burden rather than a help. Labor of a purely agri- cultural character in Virginia was thought to demand less painful exertion than in England. It was neither so tax- ing nor so long continued. This did not apply to the task of clearing the forest lands, the most severe and trying undertaking, perhaps, which has ever been imposed upon a farm hand. Its performance, however, was re- stricted to a brief portion of each year and fell more heavily on the axemen, a comparatively small number, than upon the others, who were employed in rolling the trunks into piles and in burning the brushwood. The soil of the new ground was thickly interspersed with roots, but as it was broken up with the hoe, it did not offer any serious obstacles to cultivation. In the long interval in winter betw^een the sale of the crop of the preceding season and the removal of the plants from the beds to the fields, the servants had few important duties to

1 Boyal Hist. MSS. Commission, Eighth Report, Appx., p. 41. Thomas Nicholls, writing to Sir John Wolstenholme, April 2, 1C23, said: "all that the women did was nothing but to devour the food of the land with- out doing any day's deed." p. 41.

'- Leah and Eachel, p. 12, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III. In IGOO, Alice Rogers, a servant of Thomas Spilman, of York County, complained in a petition entered in court that her master made her ' ' work in the ground," Vol. 1664-1672, p. 385, Va. State Library.

16 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

occupy their attention. The principal tasks, which con- sisted in tending the corn and tobacco, began in tlie spring. The hours of labor were then extended from sunrise to sunset, but there was an intermission of five hours in the day when the sun in the openings was most oppressive and dangerous.^ Doubtless, to untried and unseasoned servants, it was extremely taxing to be com- pelled to exert themselves at all, whether in the morning or the afternoon, in the months of June, July, and August, and to many of those who had been recently imported into the Colony, the influence of the heat in these montlis was fatal by bringing on fevers, which their constitutions, accustomed to a different climate, found it impossible to resist. Omitting from view all considerations of human- ity, the prospect of losing valuable laborers whose terms had been purchased a short time before at a high price, and who could not easily be replaced, was suificient in itself to lead to the adoption of rules that operated as a protection to their general health. Among the most important of these rules was, that no white laborer who had just arrived in the Colony should be forced to engage in any form of work in the fields in very hot weather. ^ The immigration agents in England, who were familiar mth the climate of Virginia, frequently urged their inexperienced patrons to secure at least a few seasoned laborers before they began the cultivation of their newly opened plantations.^ There are indications that many of the servants had been prompted to leave England by extravagant representations of the ease and comfort of the life which they would be able to lead in the Colony,

1 Leah and Rachel, p. 12, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III.

2 J6/cZ.,p. 14.

3 Verney Papers, Camden Publications, See jS'eiirs Virginia Caro- lorum, pp. 109-111.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 17

and the contrast, not necessarily very great, between the conditions which they expected and the conditions which they found, threw many into a state of dejection in which they soon succumbed to the lurking miasma of the marshes and the newly exposed soil of the clearings.^ And the same was also the fate of many in that class which was represented by Frethorne, already referred to, men who had occupied a station of comparative independence in England, and who were cast down by the different situa- tions in which they found themselves in Virginia. The work of men of this stamp being carried out with a faint- ing or unwilling spirit, was certain to be grossly defective, and was, therefore, well calculated to provoke harshness in the attitude of their master towards them. Regarding them as incurably worthless, there was little inducement on his part to encourage them. He accepted them as incorrigible, and weary of chafing against an evil which it was impos- sible to remove, he finally sank into a state of carelessness and indifference as to the matter of their improvement. ^

As the servants increased in number, it became more necessary to emj)loy overseers to supervise them, and this was especially the case in the instance of planters who had obtained patents to large tracts so widely separated in the point of locality that the owners were unable to give the management of them their constant attention.^ When a more careful superintendence was required than the land-

^ Life of Thomas Hellier, pp. 28, 29. The author of the Life also asserted that there was no encouragement for any one to come over as a servant unless he was " able of limb and healthy of constitution, it being more to tlie interest of Virginia to have servants who can chop logs lustily than chop logic. Let robustious rustics sail to Virginia to seek their fortunes."

2 Bullock's Virginia, p. 14.

3 There is a reference to an overseer as early as the year 1622. See letter of John Baldwin to a friend in the Bermudas, printed in the appen- dix of Neill's Virginia Vetusta, p. 203.

VOL. II. — c

18 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

owner himself could personally give, the most faithful and capable of his laborers was probably quite frequently appointed overseer. If he had under engagement to him- self a servant who was perfectly competent to perform the duties of the position, there could have been little inducement for him to select a man who was in full enjoy- ment of his freedom. The legal tie which gave him con- trol over the actions of the servant made the servant a more desirable subordinate. ^ On the other hand, the fact that the overseer was still bound by the terms of an in- denture was calculated to diminish his influence with the laborers over whom he was placed. In the county records of Virginia previous to 1700, the references to overseers become more frequent as the close of the century is approached. These undoubtedly were freemen. At no time in the history of the Colony were such men absent from the class of overseers. Indeed, this class was prin- cipally recruited from among those whose indentures had expired. 2 The duties incident to the position required for their performance a firm and energetic spirit as well as intelligence and fairness. However amenable to authority the great mass of English servants may have been, there must have been a large number who needed the utmost strictness and sternness for their governance. To control such persons, the master was compelled to rely upon his overseer, who, however well adapted to his office, often found this an impossible task. In seeking to perform it, he was not infrequently assaulted by fractious servants.^

1 One of the overseers of Major Robert Beverley, Sr., was a servant. Jiecords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1679-1694, p. 4.

2 Jones' Present State of Virginia, p. 54. The overseer was sometimes a negro. " General Court Orders, April 23, 1669, Hannah Warwick's case extenuated because she was overseen by a negro overseer." Bohin- son Transcripts, p. 256.

3 liecords of the General Court, pp. 44, 99 ; liecords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1680-1694, p. 36.

SYSTEM OF LABOE 19

Of all offences of wliicli the servants were guilty, run- ning away was the most common. The inclination to this act was exhibited at an early date in the history of the Colony and was attributable to a variety of causes, such as harsh treatment in special instances, the desire to escape from the trammels of an uncongenial situation, or the promptings of an intractable nature. It is easily con- ceivable that this disposition developed itself more fre- quently in youths under nineteen years of age who were bound for long periods, than in older persons whose terms would end in a much shorter time, and who, therefore, had not the same inducement to desert their masters. The younger laborers were naturally more restless, more unruly, and less likely to show patience and self-restraint if the conditions of their lives were repugnant to their tastes and ambitions. The inclination to run away was, however, confined to no age. The man who, in consider- ation of being transported across the ocean to Virginia, without payment of the usual charges, had conferred upon the merchant or shipowner the right to dispose of him in the Colony, would much more probably feel this impulse and act upon it than the man who had come out under articles of indenture with the planter to whom he was con- signed, and as to whose character and standing he must have obtained more or less definite information. In such cases, the engagement of the servant had not been formed unadvisedly, but after consultation and thoughtful con- sideration.

In the beginning, the frequency with which servants abandoned their masters was in some measure due to the scarcity of labor. Many unscrupulous planters were led by this circumstance to hold out secret offers to persons of that class who were in the employment of landowners residing at a distance. These offers were accompanied

20 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

by the promise that protection would be afforded them in case their wliereabouts were discovered, an improbable con- tingency, as was asserted, on account of the remoteness and the isolation of the separate estates. Even in the cases in which the planters receiving absconding servants had not instigated them to leave their masters, the readi- ness with which they were often employed without any questions being asked amounted to a positive inducement to restless and discontented laborers to break their engage- ments whenever they felt the desire.

So general became the complaint of the action of the planters who gave employment to absconding servants, whether informed or not as to the expiration of their terms, that it was found necessary to adopt a regulation that no one should enter into a contract under any circumstances with a worker for wages or for a share of the crop, or with a laborer who was subject to an ordinary indenture, unless he could produce a certificate signed by the com- mander of the place where he had formerly resided, showing that he was at liberty to bind himself by new covenants to any one who was willing to employ him. If, notwithstanding his inability to furnish this certificate, he should be engaged, then the person who was thus guilty of violating the law was compelled to pay to the master or mistress of the servant, if his term was still unex- pired, twenty pounds of tobacco for every night he was entertained. Even though the laborer concerned should happen to have hired himself for a short time and for a defi- nite sum, the same penalty was to be enforced. So deter- mined were the members of the Assembly to probe to the heart of the evil, that it was provided that even if the la- borer who was thus employed should be a freeman who had not before entered into any contract, the person covenant- ing with him should still be under the necessity of requiring

SYSTEM OF LABOR 21

of him a certificate of absolute freedom. If without this certificate the laborer should still receive employment, the person who gave it was exposed to such punishment as the Governor and Council should prescribe. ^ If the cer- tificate offered was in reality a forgery, the servant or freeman incurred a heavy penalty for his crime. In 1676, when the insurrection had drawn away so many laborers from their masters, the Assembly provided that every planter who had in his employment a servant whose ante- cedents were unknown, and who had not been residing in the country nine months, should present a report to the nearest justice of the peace showing his age, stature, the place from which he came, and the length of time he had been in the country. ^

There was one strong influence at work among the planters which was likely to have made the operation of these laws more effective than is the case in general with prohibitory statutes in communities recently settled. The very reasons moving those who entertained abscond- ing servants or hirelings to enter into covenants with them in spite of their failure to produce the certificate demanded by the law, impelled the masters or first em- ployers of the runaways to pursue and seize them and to bring them back to the estates to which they belonged. The scarcity of labor made it dear, and it was less expen- sive to follow a servant or hireling who had absconded than to replace him by the purchase of a substitute. The most important interests of the landholders were involved in the sanctity of the regulation, and there are innumer- able indications in the county records that the penalty imposed for disregarding it was strictly enforced.^

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, pp. 253, 254.

2/&W., vol. II, pp. 405, 406.

3 Many instances of the expenses incurred in recovering a runaway

22 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

The character of the punishment incurred by the servant in absconding offered an additional inducement to his

are preserved in the records of the county courts. The following is an

example taken from the records of Lancaster County:

" One musket of the county's 150 lbs. tobacco

One rundlet of powder 48 " "

One small broad axe 15 " "

One new cooper's axe 48 " "

Five men and a boat 4 dayes 340 " "

One gallon of rum, etc., for them 140 *' "

CHARGE IN FETCHING.

Paid three men that brought Coll. Coulbourne

from York 125 "

Paid Mr. Coulbourne as per his account . . 1520 " "

Four men and a shallop 4 dayes 600 " "

One gallon of rum, etc., for them 3G0 " " "

Eecords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1666-1682, p. 336. In 1694, Patrick Goghagan ran away from his master in Elizabeth City County. The cost of recovering him amounted to £5 19s. Becorcls of Elizabeth County, vol. 1684-1699, p. 60, Va. State Library. Reference may also be made to an instance in Becords of York County, vol. 1687-1691, p. 569, Va. State Library : " An acco't of my charges in p'suite of my runaway servants, Jno. Sherry, a portagues, and Tho. Roberts, a molatta, v/hich absented themselves from my service ye 18th of August last and returned ye fifth instant : ^ ,

To John Marson for his sloope 3 00 00

" John Travillian for his voyage 1 10 00

«' John Bushell for ditto 1 00 00

" p'visins for ye voyage 2 00 00

" passage over Elke River 0 00 06

" a guide from Elke River to Newcastle .... 02 06

" my expenses at Newcastle . 04 09

" passage from thence to Philadelphia 04 06

" expenses by ye way 03 08

" expenses at Philadelphia 2 07 00

" " thence back to Newcastle 0 01 06

" boat hire from Philadelphia unto Newcastle . . 10 00

" expenses there 07 06

" guide from Newcastle to Elke River .... 02 00

" gallon of rum 05 00

they being absent 79 dayes apeece."

SYSTEM OF LABOR 23

master to discover the place to wliicli he had fled, and to capture and lead him back. If the act of running away under consideration was the first offence of that nature on his part, he was punished to the extent of being required to remain in the employment of his master double the time for which he was bound by his indenture, or by the custom of the country in the absence of a written agreement between them ; and if his flight had been marked by aggravated circumstances,' or was taken at the season of the year when the crops needed special attention, it lay in the power of the commissioners of the county to enlarge still further the term for which he had become liable by Avay of penalty for his violation of his covenants. If the offence was committed a second time, the servant was also branded in the cheek and shoulder. i

In some cases, the servant was not only required to remain with his master double the time agreed upon at first, but also to pay the amount which had been spent in capturing him. The punishment occasionally extended to the infliction of stripes. In 1640, Hugh Gwyn followed two absconding white laborers and a negro slave into Maryland, in which Colony they had taken refuge, seized them and brought them back. By order of court, they were whipped on their bare backs until they had received thirty lashes. The two white men, a Dutchman and a Scotchman, were forced to remain with their master twelve months beyond the terms for Avhicli they were bound in their indentures, and at the end of that inter- val they were required to serve on the public works for three years. The negro was delivered over to his master to continue a slave during the rest of his life.^

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, pp. 254, 440 ; vol. II, p. 117.

2 General Court Orders, June 4, July 9, 1(540, Bobinson Transcripts, pp. 9, 10.

24 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

In tlie same year, several servants planned to make their escape to the Dutch provinces in the Nortli, the ringleader in the conspiracy being a Dutchman, and one of the participants a negro. They were captured when they had gotten only as far as Elizabeth River. The punishment in this case was severer than in that previ- ously mentioned. The Dutchman was sentenced to receive thirty lashes, to have the letter " R " branded in his cheek, and to carry a shackle upon one leg as he worked. When his term of service expired, he was to be delivered to the authorities, to remain in the public employment for seven years. One of his accomplices, after receiving thirty lashes, and being branded in the cheek, was upon the close of the period covered by his indenture to become the servant of the Colony, and to continue so for the space of three years. A second accomplice Avas to be bound over to the public for two years after the expira- tion of his term. The negro Avas to be burnt in the face with the letter " R " and to be Avhipped severely.^

In 1660-61, it was provided that if a white man bound by indenture or the custom, fled in company with negroes, who, being the property of their owner for life, could not be punished by an extension of their terms, he was to be compelled, when brought back, to remain in the employ- ment of his master double his own time, and of the slaves' master, during a set period for every slave Avho had gone off with him ; and if more than one white person Avas in the party of runaAvays, the Avhole number of white men Avere to be proportionately liable for the time for which the negroes, if they had been English laborers, would have been compelled to serve, in addition to those terms for Avhicli they Avere already bound. ^

1 General Court Orders, July 22, 1640, JRubinson Transcripts, p. 11. - Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 117.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 25

In the session of 1655-56, the penalty of twenty pounds of tobacco for each night, imposed upon any person who gave entertainment or employment to an absconding ser- vant, was increased to sixty pounds for every twenty-four hours. The letter " R" deeply burnt into the cheek, fore- head, or shoulder not being found a sufficient mark of degradation, the right was granted to the master to keep the hair of the runaway cropped close to his ears, which would lead to his detection as soon as he escaped from the plantation to which he belonged. ^

The pursuit of a runaway seems to have been generally made by hue and cry. It was required that this should be passed from the house of one county commissioner to that of another, under a lieavy penalty for neglect. ^ This method proving unsatisfactory, an additional regula- tion was adopted in 1663, by the terms of which, at the request of a master whose servant had fled, the justices of the peace were commanded to issue their warrants direct- ing the impressment of men and boats to take part in the pursuit, and the cost thus entailed was to be included in the regular county levies.^ The enactment of such a law indicates that the public sentiment of the Colony re- garded the loss of a laborer by flight as common to the whole community, and therefore to be made good out of the public funds.

As numerous runaways were able to escape from the country by means of ships engaged in carrying freight to the Dutch Colony, provision was made for their return by a standing request to the Governor of that Colony to send all absconding servants back by the first vessel which might sail to the part of Virginia from which they had fled.* When a person was returned under these circum-

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, pp. 517, 518. ^ /^j/tZ., vol. II, p. 187.

2 Ihid., p. 483. * Ibid., vol. II, p. 188.

26 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

stances, lie was received by the collector of the district in which the ship came to anchor, and a certificate was given to the master of the vessel, containing a statement of the expenses which he had incurred in the transportation of the runaway, and this amount was discharged by the General Assembly upon the presentation of the document to that body. In the meanwhile, the collector had notified the master of the arrival of his servant. If he was willing to take the servant into his employment again, he was required first to pay all the charges that had fallen upon the public, but if unwilling, then the servant was either sold or hired out until the public had been reimbursed for the outlay entailed ; and if any part of his term remained unexpired, after this was accomplished, he was returned to his master. 1 If, instead of attempting to escape in a ship that was about to set sail for the Northern Colonies, the runaway fled to the nearest Indian village, its chief was commanded to produce him before a justice of the peace. The latter, on receiving him, was required to pay to the Indians who had apprehended him, twenty arms' length of roanoke, or its value in such goods as the captors might prefer. The justice then forwarded the servant to his master. This law was passed to continue in force only for a very short time.^

Experience showed that the neglect of constables in making search as directed by their warrants, which em- powered them to enter dwelling-houses, was the most frequent cause of a permanent evasion of capture on the part of absconding servants. To counteract the secret influence brought to bear upon these officers, a master, in case his runaway was apprehended, was ordered to pay the constable who was the agent in the capture, two

1 This act was modified in 1686. See Heniug's Statutes, vol. Ill, p. 28.

2 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 299.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 27

hundred pounds of tobacco. Tliis was also a means of stimulating him to greater energy in a subsequent in- stance of a like nature.

In 1669, it was provided that a reward of one thousand pounds of tobacco should be allowed to every person who apprehended a servant absenting himself from the planta- tion to which he belonged without a passport from the authorities of the place where he resided, or a note from his master, granting him permission. Tliis reward was to be paid not by the master, but by the public at large, the amount thus expended to be returned to the public funds by the sale of the runaway for a term of years as soon as his present employment came to an end. This law was enacted for the benefit of the class of landowners who were in possession of so few laborers that they were unable to follow fugitives at certain seasons of the year without abandoning their crops in the ground to ruin. When a servant was captured after the passage of the Act of 1669, he was at once carried to the office of the nearest justice of the peace. A certificate of the term for which the runaway was bound to his master was then drawn up and transmitted to the next General Assembly. In the meanwhile, the runaway was delivered to the con- stable of the parish in which he had been seized, by whom he was conveyed to the constable of the adjacent parish, and so in turn until he was finally delivered to his owner. ■ In case he was suffered to escape by the neglect of one of these officers, a penalty of one thousand pounds of tobacco was imposed upon the delinquent for the offence. ^

The allowance of one thousand pounds for the appre- hension of an absconding servant was found to be not only burdensome to the public revenues but also pro- motive of a spirit of collusion, defeating the object which 1 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, pp. 273, 274.

28 ECONOMIC HISTOllY OF VIRGINIA

the law had in view.^ The reward was reduced to two hundred pounds whenever the fugitive was captured at a greater distance than ten miles from his master's home, and this amount was to be paid out of the public levy in the county to which he belonged. No claim was to be considered valid until it had been clearly shown to the justices that the runaway and his captor had not entered into a mutually advantageous arrangement as to his arrest; that the arrest occurred at a certain distance from the plantation on which he had been employed; that the claim had or had not been purchased from the captor; and tliat the person urging it in the court was or was not the master or overseer of the fugitive. If the claim was found to be tainted Avith fraud, the person guilty of the offence, in case he was unable to pay the one thousand pounds imposed as a penalty, was compelled to submit to corporal punishment in the discretion of the court.^

If the servant had absconded on two occasions, the master was directed to keep the hair of the fugitive closely cut, or forfeit two hundred pounds as often as he was subsequently apprehended. ^ Each constable into whose hands he was delivered to be returned to his owner was authorized by the commissioner's warrant to give him a severe whipping. The heavy fine which was im- posed in case a captured servant was allowed to escape by the negligence of one of these officers was, in 1670, reduced from one thousand pounds to four hundred pounds of tobacco.* Under the regulations in operation immediately previous to the enactment of the statute of 1686, as soon as the period for which a captured runaway was bound had expired, the master was required to de- liver him at once into the hands of the nearest justice of

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, pp. 277, 278, 284. 3 Ihid., p. 278.

2 Ihid., p. 284. * Ibid., p. 278.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 29

the peace in order that he might be assigned for the public use, liis term being extended at the rate of four months for every two hundred pounds of tobacco which the county had expended in his capture. Under the law of 1686, however, the entire amount of the outlay which had fallen upon the public was assessed upon his mas- ter or mistress, to be reimbursed by the extension in his or her favor of the servant's time for a period which would cover the value of the loss entailed by his re- covery. ^

There can be little doubt that the last provision made was the wisest that could have been adopted in the cir- cumstances existing in the Colony. When a servant absconded, all the resources of the public treasury and its personal instruments for carrying on the machinery of the government and preserving the peace were brought to bear to effect his capture, and when that end had been accomplished, the master was very properly required to save the people at large from pecuniary loss. The rule prevailing at one time that the community was to be reimbursed by the sale of the runaway by the public officers as soon as his original term had expired, must have given rise to much inconvenience and some compli- cation in the affairs of each county. The authorities, from the great number of fugitives, were placed in the position, as long as the law was in operation, of being vendors of labor on a very important scale, and this made necessary a serious enlargement of the public accounts without any pecuniary advantage accruing from it.

The fact that so few conspiracies were hatched among the laborers bound by articles of indenture is to be attrib- uted not only to the fair treatment which, as a rule, they received from their masters, but also to the comparative 1 Hening's Statutes, vol. Ill, p. 29.

30 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

brevity of the time for which all whose ages exceeded nineteen, among whom alone a plot was likely to be formed, were required to serve. It was entirely natural that the older members of this class should have been disposed to endure much that was harsh or repugnant to their wishes in the expectation of the early ending of their terms, rather than plunge into secret schemes that exposed them to the risk of certain death in the event of detection. There seems to have been a seditious feeling in York in 1661, and its display w^as considered to be sufficiently serious to justify the authorities in warning the magistrates and heads of families in that county to punish all discourse among those in their employment tending to a popular tumult.^ The conspiracy of 1663, to which reference has been made already, had a religious and political object in view. Only a few servants appear to have been included among those implicated in it. The Cromwellian soldiers, reduced to the condition of common laborers, doubtless smarted with the sense of degradation, but beyond all this, there was a hope that the status of the English Protectorate might by their bravery and reso- lution be restored in the Colony. ^ The discovery of this

1 Eecords of York County, vol. 1657-1G62, p. 369, ^^a. State Library. " A dangerous conspiracy among servants discovered Oct. 13, 1640." Bobinson Transcripts, p. 12.

- The account which Beverley gives of this conspiracy is as follows : "The rigorous circumscription of their trade (i.e. of the Virginians), the persecutions of the Sectaries and the little demand for tobacco, had liked to have had fatal consequences ; for the poor coming thereby very uneasy, their murmurings were watched and fed by several mutinous and rebel- lious Oliverian soldiers tha* were sent thither as servants. These, depend- ing upon the discontented people of all sorts, formed a villainous plot to destroy their masters and afterwards to set up for themselves." History of Virginia, p. 55. See also letter of Thomas Ludwell, British State Papers, Colonial Papers; Sainshury Abstracts for 1665, p. 72, Va. State Library.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 31

plot led to the passage of severe laws in repression of the sinister meetings of servants. They were forbidden to come together in considerable numbers on Sunday, a day on which they had been allowed entire rest, and the same rule was also probably applicable to all recognized holi- days. By the custom prevailing in the Colony, the labor- ers were granted not only the Sabbath and the usual holidays observed in England, but also the greater part of every Saturday. ^ Apart from the hours of night, there were many occasions when they were Avholly at leisure, and if there had existed any disposition to conspiracy among them, the opportunity would not have been lack- ing. In the period of great depression following the col- lapse of the Rebellion of 1676, there was imminent danger of an open insurrection on the part of the servants,' but if it had occurred, the motive would have been not merely impatience of the landowners' authority but apprehension of famine. The feeling died out when relief had been obtained.

Among so large a body of laborers, it is not remarkable that there should have been many instances of resistance to masters. One of the earliest petitions presented to the General Assembly in 1619, the first legislature convening in the Colony, was that of Captain Powell, who desired to have his servant punished for falling into grossly insubor- dinate conduct. The petitioner was empowered to place this servant in the pillory for a period of four days, to nail his ears to the post, and to give him a public whipping on each day included in his sentence. ^ The severe punish- ment inflicted in this case does not appear to have been repeated in later times. The person who was found

1 Leah and Rachel, p. 12, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III.

2 Lawes of General Assembly, 1019, Colonial Records of Virginia, State Senate Doct., Extra, p. 24.

32 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

guilty of offering resistance either to his master, or to the overseer who was appointed to supervise him, was com- pelled to continue in the same employment two years beyond the expiration of the term for which he was bound either by indenture or the custom of the country. ^ If the spirit of insubordination which he exhibited rendered him dangerous, he could, upon complaint, be committed to jail, a bond being given by his owner that the charge would be pressed to a trial. During the imprisonment, the mas- ter was required to support the servant, five pounds of tobacco being paid to the sheriff to cover the expense of each twenty-four hours of detention. ^

At each county seat there was a whipping-post, and this mode of jjunishment was frequently used as a substitute for the jail. The servant condemned to the lash was delivered to the sheriff to be publicly chastised as a warning to all who were similarly clisiDOsed, and after- wards returned to the plantation to which he or she might be attached. The master had a right to whip a delin- quent with his own hands if unwilling to put himself to the inconvenience of sending him to a magistrate for that purpose.^ When the servant had shown on any occasion the desire to inflict injury on any one not his employer, the latter might be ordered, in the discretion of the court, to furnish a bond that his servant would keep the peace.* Should a servant be guilty of murder or an attempt to kill, six men were summoned from the neighborhood where he lived whose names were put at the head of the panel. By the jury thus formed he was tried, and if convicted, was

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 538.

2 Becords of Henrico County, vol. 1G82-1701, p. 171, Va. State Library.

3 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 266.

^Becords of Henrico County, vol. 1682-1701, p. 139, Va. State Libraiy.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 33

sentenced to be imprisoned or hanged, according to the circumstances of his crime. ^ Aggravated cases of rob- bery were doubtless punished with severity, but small offences like hog-stealing, especially when the person who suffered was the master, exposed the offender as a rule only to the pains of a public or private whipping. ^ In some cases, in addition to public chastisement, he was compelled by order of court to continue in the same employment for a term of two years after the expiration of the time upon which he had agreed. ^ It not infre- quently happened that in condonation for the most serious forms of robbery, a servant bound himself upon the con- clusion of the period covered by his indenture to enter into a second indenture by which he agreed to serve a second period.* Whoever induced a man of this class to dispose of his master's property by stealth, more par- ticularly when the tempter became the beneficiary of the theft, was compelled to suffer imprisonment for a month

1 Beverley's History of Virginia, p. 207 ; Palmer's Calendar of Vir- ginia State Papers, vol. I, p. 35.

2 Becords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1673-1685, p. 36.

3 Becords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1666-1680, orders March 9, 1669.

4 " Know all men by these presents that I, Henry Rewcastle . . . being now free and having liberty to bargain, I doe freely binde my self e and absolutely without compulsion or persuasions of any person or persons whatsoever, to serve from the day of the date hereof three complete years to Mrs. Elizabeth Lockey or her assigns, and to doe all such labour as she the said Mrs. Lockey or her assigns shall sett me about duely and truly in every respect, the consideration I doe owne to have received of the said Mrs. Lockey, namely, for the breaking open of her store and taking rum, mackerell and sugar out thereof, and convey it away, and for this consideration and the true performance of three years' service from the date hereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 18th day of November in the year of our Lord, 1675." Becords of York County, vol. 1671-1094, p. 162, Va. State Library. See also Orders of Court, Jan. 12, 1684, Becords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1680-1694.

VOL. II. D

34 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

and to restore four times the value of tlie articles wliicli had been carried off.^

In the Assembly of 1619, a law was passed that pro- vided that the servant should receive a whipping for every oath he uttered, and should afterwards confess his guilt in the parish church when the congregation had convened for religious services. There is no record of this statute having been repealed.^ The regulation imposing a fine of tobacco upon all freemen who had been heard to swear was steadily enforced, and there is no reason why there should have been any relaxation of the special punish- ment inflicted for the same offence upon those in their employment.

A certain degree of liberty in the sexual relations of the female servants with the male, and even with their masters, might have been expected, but there are numer- ous indications that the general sentiment of the Colony condemned it, and sought by appropriate legislation to restrain and prevent it. A woman who was got with child by her employer was, upon the expiration of her term, delivered to the church wardens of the parish in which she resided, who were empowered to dispose of her for two years, the tobacco thus obtained to be devoted to parochial objects. The purpose that this regulation had in view was of a twofold character. The wardens secured by the sale of the mother for a new period of service, the means to meet any charge which the bastard might impose upon the parish ; on the other hand, her master was pre- vented from deriving any advantage from his criminal association with her such as would have resulted from an extension of the term for which she was bound to him.

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, pp. 274, 275.

2 Lawes of Assembly, 1619, Colonial Becords of Virginia, State Senate Doct., Extra, 1874, p. 27.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 35

If the woman had been required to remain in his service, then this woukl have constituted an additional inducement to a dissolute master to tamper with the virtue of his female servants. It was clearly recognized, at the same time, that to allow such a Avoman to go entirely free on the expiration of her first term, on the ground that the father of her bastard child was her employer, who used the influ- ence of -the relation to force her to yield to his solicita- tions, was to offer a strong temptation to all women in the same situation to lay their offspring at the doors of their masters, whether the latter were guilty or not.^

If the father of the bastard was a freeman, owning, however, no interest in the mother, he might satisfy the claim against him by paying fifteen hundred pounds of tobacco, or serving for one year the master of his para- mour. He had also to give security to save the parisli and her employer harmless, and was compelled to defray the whole charge imposed by the existence of the child. ^ If, on the other hand, the latter was the offspring of a servant Avho was unable to contribute to its support, the expense of maintaining it fell upon the p)arish until his term had expired ; as soon as this was the case, he was compelled to reimburse the vestry for the amount which they had already been called upon to pay.^

In the latter part of the century, some alteration was made in these regulations. If a woman gave birth to a bastard, the sheriff, as soon as he learned of the fact, was required to arrest her, and whip her on the bare back until the blood came. Being turned over to her master, she was compelled to pay two thousand pounds of tobacco, or to remain in his emplojanent two years after the termi-

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 167.

2 Ibid., vol. I, p. 438.

3 Ibid, vol. II, p. 168.

36 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

nation of lier indentures.^ By delivering five hundred pounds of the same commodity to the parish, her master could relieve her of the chastisement, and, in return, he had a right to claim of her a service of six months,^ in addition to the two years prescribed by law. Katharine Higgins, of York, having borne a child out of wedlock, was ordered to receive thirty-nine lashes. To secure remission of this part of her punishment, John Eage, her master, gave the vestrymen assurance that he would deliver to the parish the required amount of tobacco as a guarantee against loss in providing food and clothing for the bastard.^ The punishment of whipping seems to have been also remitted in case the mother and the father appeared together in church at the time the congrega- tion was assembled, both clothed in white sheets.^ A bas- tard child remained in the service of the parish until his twenty-fourth year, being apprenticed under strict indentures.^

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 115 ; Eecords of York Coxinty., vol. 1690-1694, p. 427, Va. State Library. See also Eecords of Accomac County, original vol. 1666-1670, f. p. 79.

2 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 115 ; vol. Ill, p. 1-39.

3 Eecords of York County, vol. 1684-1687, p. 7, Va. State Library.

* Eecords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1644-1655, Feb. 16, 1645.

5 Eecords of the General Court, p. 47. Eecords of Eappaliannock County, vol. 1668-1672, pp. 60, 61, Va. State Library, contains an example of these indentures : " This indenture witnesseth that we the subscribers. Col. John Catlett and Capt. Thomas Hawkins, two of his majesty's Justices of the Peace for Rappahannock County, do hereby covenant, promise and agree to and with William Hodgson of the same county, planter, that Nicholas Willard, a bastard child, begotten on the body of Katharine Jones by Nicholas "Willard, late of aforesaid county, deed, sliall from henceforth become a servant to the above said Hodgson, his heirs and assigns, until the said Nicholas attains to the age of 20 years fully to be completed and ended, and, as soon as God shall enable him, the said Hodgson, to serve his heirs or assigns in such service and employment as

SYSTEM OF LABOR 37

If the bastard child to which the female servant gave birth was the offspring of a negro father, she was whipped unless the usual fine was paid, and immediately upon the expiration of her term, was sold by the wardens of the nearest church for a period of five years. One-third of the proceeds of the sale was turned over to the public treasury, one-third was paid to the informer, and the remainder reserved for the use of the parish in which the offence was committed. ^ The child was bound out until his or her thirtieth year had been reached. The heaviness of the penalty was in some measure to be attributed to the desire to inflict a certain degree of moral punishment, for, as will be seen when we come to the subject of the slave, all physical intimacy between whites and blacks, even under the sanction of marriage, was not only severely condemned, but also rigidly punished.

Secret marriages among the servants of the Colony seem to have been a common source of serious loss to masters, and steps were taken at an early period to prevent their occurrence. The penalty attached, in 1643, to this act was the prolongation of the term of the husband for twelve months, while the term of the wife was extended twice its original length, owing to the anticipated loss of valuable time in the event that she gave birth to a child. ^

by him or tliem lie shall be employed in for and during the aforesaid time ; in consideration whereof the said Hodgson, for himself, his heirs, executors doe hereby covenant ... to and with the aforesaid justices in behalf of the said Nicholas during his said time, to find and allow him meat, drink, washing, lodging and sufficient apparel, and at the end and expiration thereof to pay and deliver him or assigns two suits of apparell, one, kersey, the other, cotton ; a canvas pair of drawers and two shirts, one canvas, the other lockram ; and one felt and 3 basketts of good sound Indian corn. In witness whereof ..." At the date of the indenture the child was two years and five months old.

1 Eecords of York County, vol. 1G90-1094, p. 209, Va. State Library ; Hening's Statutes, vol. Ill, p. 87. - Heniug's Statutes, vol. I, p. 253.

38 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

A minister was strictly prohibited from publishing the bans of persons of tins class, or joining them in marriage without first having received a certificate showing that the consent of their masters had been obtained, and if the union took place without that consent, the parties to it were made liable, in 1662, to the penalty of serving one year after their articles of indenture expired. The same punishment was inflicted upon the servant who intermar- ried clandestinely with a free person, the latter being compelled to pay 'the master fifteen hundred pounds of tobacco or bacon, or become his employee for a period of twelve months.^ Although there was a law interdicting a union of free whites with negroes, mulattoes, and Indians, whether enslaved or free, there seems to have been no provision against marriage between persons of African or Indian race and pure whites, in case the latter hap- pened to be still bound by indenture or by custom of the country. This, however, is probably explained by the fact that the consent of the master or mistress was neces- sary to give the marriage of a servant validity, a consent practically unattainable on account of the prejudice which existed even at this early day to such a union.

It is interesting to find that the private funerals of servants were the occasion of so much scandal as to lead to their prohibition. This scandal related to various persons nearly associated with the dead, who, if guiltless of what was whispered against them, could not vindicate their innocence, and if guilty, could always be successful in evading punishment. In order to remove all occasion for aspersion previous to the burial, three or four neigh- bors were summoned to view the corpse whenever there was the smallest ground for suspicion, and if not, to accompany the body to the grave. It was not permitted

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 114.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 39

that any servant should be interred in a private spot. They were to be buried in public cemeteries established for this purpose. The passage of such a law illustrates with singular force the great care with which every pre- caution was adopted by the General Assembly for the protection of persons of this class against all forms of encroachment upon their welfare.^

If we examine the relations which the servant bore to the community at large, we find that he was in the enjoy- ment of none of the higher privileges of citizenship. He was furnished the amplest protection to life and limb which the law could give, and was entitled to the strictest observance on the part of his master of all the covenants in his indenture that assured him proper food, apparel, and lodging, but he was denied the right of suffrage, and had no voice in the general or local administration of affairs. It was only in the case of a great emergency that he was called upon to bear arms in the defence of the soil. Under ordinary circumstances, he was not per- mitted to have weapons in his possession, although the royal instructions in the time of James II required that he, as well as his master, should be regularly mustered. ^ At all times, unless a war was in progress, he was subject to be taken in execution as if he were a mere bale of mer- chandise.^ He formed the most important part of the basis of taxation. At one period, all servants under six- teen were exempted from being included in the list of tithables. This regulation, however, led to many serious frauds, and was, therefore, revoked. It became a general custom that after a youth had been brought into the

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. 11, p. 53.

2 Instructions to Howard, 1685, and to Culpeper, 1679, McDonald Papers, vol. VII, p. 180 ; Ihicl, vol. V, p. 305, Va. State Library.

3 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 297.

40 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

country, and his age shown to be under sixteen years, he was not again produced, and, therefore, to the end of his term remained unlisted. In consequence of the loss of public revenue from this course of action, it was provided that all persons of this class, however young, who were imported into the Colony after 1649, were to be liable for the pay- ment of county levies. ^ Natives of Virginia under sixteen were excepted from the operation of this statute, and to this number also were added the children under that age who had arrived in the country in the company of their parents, or without articles of apprenticeship.^ In 1680, the general law applicable to tithables was again sub- stantially altered, the fourteenth year being adopted as the legal age in the case of all Christian servants who had been brought into the Colony.^ Every woman who was employed in the fields had to be returned as a tithable.^ No servant who had been imported by a merchant for sale was for the first year held to be a tithable until he was disposed of.^

When the term for which a servant was bound, whether by indenture or the custom of the country, had expired, he proceeded to the court of the county in which he lived, in company with his master, or with the testimonial of the latter that he was now at liberty. The fact that he was free was entered on record by the clerk, and a certificate to that effect was drawn up and presented to him, which justified any one in employing him as a laborer. If the document was shown to be a forgery, the servant was com- pelled to stand two hours in the pillory on court day. The certificate, in case it was lost, could at any time be renewed.^ The General Court appears to have leaned towards rather than away from members of this class

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 454. 3 //,,•(?., vol. II, p. 480. s /jj-^?.^ p, 488.

2 Ibid., p. 361. * Ibid., p. 170. « Ibid., p. 116.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 41

when a question as to their right of freedom came before them for decision. ^

When the servant was discharged, upon the expiration of his term, there were certain privileges bestowed upon him wliicli it is improbable that he ever failed to claim. Reference has already been made to the benefits conferred on the laborers who, during the early existence of the Company, were imported to cultivate the public lands. At the close of their periods of service, each was granted one hundred acres, and, when this tract had been seated, each was probably entitled to an additional tract of the same extent. When the apprentices bound out to the tenants were set free, their position was still more ad- vantageous. They had an allowance of corn for twelve months, and for each a house was erected; each was pre- sented with clothing and a cow of the value of forty shillings. As much land as each could till was placed in his control, together with gifts of armor, implements, tools, and utensils. At the expiration of the tenancy, which continued for a term of seven years, — during which time one-half of all the increase of the earth and of the cattle was theirs, — a tract of twenty-five acres was granted to each one in fee simple subject to the payment of an annual rent of a few pence. They could, however, continue tenants of the Company if they wished to do so.^

After the dissolution of the Company, the amount paid

1 Numerous instances of this fact will be found in the Becords of the General Cotcrt, preserved among the Manuscript Collections of the Vir- ginia Historical Society,

2 Abstracts of Proceedings of the Virginia Company of London, vol. I, pp. 41, 42. The following reference to one of these apprentices is of inter- est: " Whereas it appears to ye court that one Henry Carman, late servant to ]Mr. Saml. Sharp, and one of those fifty boys which were by James R. commanded to be sent over hither, and arrived here in 1619, the condition of whose service was appointed to be for seven years at first to their mas-

42 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

to the servant at the end of his term was, in the absence of any provision in the indenture, fixed by custom with as much precision as if it had been prescribed by law. He was entitled to such a quantity of grain as would furnish him a support for one year. This, at the end of the century, was estimated at ten bushels.^ He was also to receive two sets of apparel, — including in general two suits, one of kersey, the other of cotton, a pair of canvas drawers, two shirts, one of which was made of canvas, the other of lockram, and one felt hat.^ In the time of Beverley, a gun worth twenty shillings was added. ^ The value of the grain, clothing, and other articles thus re- ceived was estimated at ten pounds sterling.^

The impression prevailed in England that every ser- vant was also entitled to fifty acres. For this belief, however, there seems to .have been no ground, — at least, previous to the administration of Culpeper. In 1679, this Governor was enjoined to lay off for each person of that class at the end of his term fifty acres of land, and a similar order was given to Sir Henry Chichely in Janu- ary 1681-82, by the Committee for Trade and Plantations, which was renewed in a somewhat modified form in 1685

ters to whom they were first put, and further if during this time, they should commit any great malifice as whoredom, theft, drawing of blood, that then from that time toties quoties the time of their service to begin again for seven years, now whereas it appeareth to ye court that the said Henry Carman hath committed fornication with one Alice Chambers, servant of Abraham Chambers, the court orders he shall serve seven years longer." Orders of General Court, Oct. 11, 1G2G, Bohinson Tran- scripts, p. 52.

1 Beverley's History of Virginia, p. 221.

2 See Becords of Bappahannock County, vol. 1668-1672, pp. 60, 61, Va. State Library. In this case, provision was made for an apprentice at the expiration of his term.

3 Beverley's History of Virginia, p. 221.

1 Colonial Entry Book, vol. 92, pp. 275-283.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 43

in the instructions to Howard. ^ It does not appear that the General Assembly passed a law at any time in pur- suance of these instructions. The author of Leah and Rachel about the middle of the century declared that the report that fifty acres were allotted to each servant when he became free was a delusion. ^ There must have been strong ground for opposition on the part of the land- owners to the establishment of such a regulation. If it had been customary to make such a grant, the large body of persons who, when their terms expired, entered into indentures again, or hired themselves out at stated wages, would have been drawn away at once to their own es- tates, and the ability of the planters who had been their masters to secure laborers in place of them would have been diminished to a serious extent. ^

1 Instructions to Culpeper, 1679 ; Howard, 1685, McDonald Papers, vol. V, p. 518, vol. VI, p. 259, Va. State Library. See also Colonial Entry Book, No. 106, pp.339, 340; Sainshunj Abstracts for 1681-1682, p. 151, Va. State Library.

2 Leah and Rachel, p. 11, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III. This statement is confirmed by an order of the General Court, Jan. 13, 1626, Bohinson Transcripts, p. 61.

3 Beverley, who wrote at a time when the right of appropriating land had been very much enlarged, states that "each servant had a right to take up fifty acres where he can find any unpatented." There is pre- served in the Becords of York County, an indenture between an English carpenter and a Virginian plante», in which the allotment of fifty acres is referred to as "according to the custom of the country." Becords of York County, vol. 1638-1648, p. 367, Va. State Library. This indenture was drawn up in England iu 1647, and probably by one who was really ignorant of the customs prevailing in the Colony. The desire of the Vir- ginian planter, who was a party to it, to secure the carpenter, may have been so great that he was willing, when the mechanic's term came to an end, to grant him fifty acres whether it could be legally claimed or not. There is no concurrence of evidence that at this time the allotment of fifty acres to a servant on the expiration of his term was an established regulation. If he obtained this area it was probably by a perversion of the head right.

44 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

If, during the period covered by his indenture, the servant was guilty of some gross violation of its pro- visions, or if, in the absence of written covenants, he dis- regarded what was required of him by the custom of the country, he forfeited, at the expiration of his term, those benefits which, under ordinary circumstances, he re- ceived. ^ The courts, general and local, were rigidly scrupulous that the amplest justice should be done him in the payment oi the articles due him when he became free. All agreements between his master and himself before his term had ended had, to acquire validity, to be acknowledged in the presence of a legal officer, and, in case such contracts were lacking in this sanction, his employer was deprived of the right to hold him longer, although many months of the period for which he had bound himself still remained unexpired. If he was de- tained beyond the limit of the time laid down by his indenture or by custom, his master was compelled to pay him in wages for this additional time. In one case, the General Court ordered that a hogshead of tobacco should be delivered to a servant wdiose term had thus been forcibly extended. ^

A fair proportion only of those who were imported into Virginia as laborers acquired handsome estates and became prominent and influential citizens. Many Assemblies, after 1632, contained burgesses who had begun their career in the Colony by binding themselves out for a set period of time. In the early sessions of the legis- lature, the members who had at one time been servants or apprentices had been brought in as employees of the Company, and, through the grants of land which they received on the expiration of their terms, had acquired

1 General Court Orders, Oct. 9, 1640, Robinson Transcripts, p. 8.

2 Becords of General Court, p. 10.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 45

immediate importance in tlie community. As late as 1654, however, we find in the Assembly, burgesses who, only a few years before, had been working for different planters, under indenture or by the custom of the coun- try. The explanation of this fact is to be sought either in their superior ability and energy after securing a re- lease, or in their thrifty habits during the continuation of their service. ^

It was not impossible for an active and industrious man bound by indenture or by the custom of the country to accumulate a good estate in the course of his employment; it is said that there was a general disposition on the part of the landowners to assist their laborers in acquiring prop- erty as a preparation for starting under the most advan- tageous circumstances on their own account as soon as they had obtained certificates of freedom. 2 The relation of kindness and confidence prevailing between master and servant was shown in the frequency with which the latter acted as the attorney of the former. ^ The servant was often allowed a tract of cleared ground in which to plant tobacco to be disposed of by himself when the annual ship-

1 The Assembly of 1629 included among its members Anthony Pagett, William Poppleton, and Richard Townsend, who had come into the Colony under the terms of indentures, Townsend, as we have seen, having been bound over to Dr. Pott to learn the art of a physician. Adam Thorough- good, who acquired large wealth, and was appointed a councillor, came to Virginia as an apprentice, perhaps agi'icultural, although he had high social connections in England. Abraham Wood and John Trussell, members of the Assembly of 1654, had begun life in the Colony as servants or apprentices. The author of Virginia's Cure went so far as to assert, in 1662, that those who occupied seats in the House of Bur- gesses had in general been men who had emigrated from England under articles of indentures. This, however, is certainly erroneous. Virginia's Cure, p. 16, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III.

2 Leah and Rachel, p. 14, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III.

3 Becords of York County, vol. 1671-1694, p. 124, Va. State Library.

46 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

ping arrived in the rivers. The articles he thus acquired in exchange for his small crop, enabled him to buy a sow, which his employer permitted to range with his own cattle; one litter of pigs furnished him with means to purchase a cow and calf, and by the time his term had drawn to an end, he was in possession of a sufficient num- ber of live stock to supply his needs when he opened a plantation of his own. His indenture not infrequently required that his master should provide him with several head when he became free.^ Bullock strongly recom- mended that every planter should pay to each of his ser- vants a certain amount of tobacco for every pound of flax which he dressed, and should in other branches of agri- cultural work offer rewards that might stimulate them to greater energy and assiduity. ^ The law strictly protected the right of persons of this class in all goods which they had brought into the country, or which they had se- cured since their arrival during the course of their terms. ^ It frequently happened that they obtained freedom in con- sideration of a payment of cattle or the conveyance of land.* In 1640, Sir John Harvey presented a favorite servant with a negro slave, an English laborer, and a cow,^ and about the same time, Robert Felgate of York bequeathed to one of his employees four head of cattle, and also corn sufficient to last him for one year. To these, sixty acres and five hundred pounds of tobacco were added. ^ In

1 General Court Orders, Oct. 9, 1G40, Eohinson Transcrii:>ts, p. 8.

2 Bullock's Virginia, p. 62.

3 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 165 ; General Court Orders, Oct. 9, 1640, Eohinson Transcripts.

* Becords of York County, vol. 1684-1687, pp. 121, 131, Va. State Library.

^ Records of Lancaster County, original vol. 1654-1702, pp. 374-379.

6 Becords of York County, vol. 1633-1694, p. 72 ; see also p. 76, Va. State Library,

SYSTEM OF LABOR 47

1681, Robert Hodges of Lower Norfolk left two breeding- sows by will to his servant Dorothy Rowell, and also granted her the right to dwell on one of his plantations during a period of seven years without paying rent.^ The bounty of masters was not restricted to live stock and land; it also extended to coin.^ Nor were the acts of gen- erosity confined to the employer. In 1634, Robert Heal- ing of Accomac, who was bound by indenture to Thomas Young, gave his master a- man-servant, whom he had prob- ably purchased from a merchant or shipowner.^ Other instances of equal liberality and good-will might be men- tioned.

A large number of the servants, as has been pointed out, upon the expiration of their terms became either over- seers or renters, if they were lacking in the means to sue out patents to estates of their own. In the seventeenth, as in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the position of an overseer furnished many opportunities to the in- cumbent for the improvement of his condition by the accumulation of property. His share in the crops which he produced for his employer was invested in the purchase of laborers of his own to obtain the basis of head rights for the acquisition of land by public grant, or it was used in buying a plantation which had already been cleared. The number of renters among those who had been ser- vants was probably small, for the reasons upon which I have already dwelt at length.

There are many evidences that it was common for ser- vants upon the close of their terms to earn a subsistence

1 Bocords of Lower Norfolk County^ original vol. 1G75-1G86, f. p. 106.

2 Nathaniel Bacon, Sr., bequeathed ten pounds sterling to one of his servants. Becords of York Comity, vol. 1G90-1694, p. 155. See also Ibid., vol. 1664-1672, p. 239, Va. State Library ; also Becords of Henrico County, original vol. 1677-1692, p. 139.

2 Becords of Accomac County, original vol. 1G32-1640, p. 46.

48 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

in the character of hired laborers. Payment of wages was not unusual even during the supremacy of the Company. Adam Dixon, a master caulker living in the Colony in 1622, was remunerated for his work at the rate of thirty-six shillings a month. ^ In 1623, as we learn on the authority of George Sandys, the wages generally received were one pound of tobacco in addition to food each day ,2 but this amount was considered to be very onerous, being much in excess of the sum paid to the same class of persons in Eng- land at this time. It was not very long before Sandys is found writing to a friend in London and urging him to procure indented laborers to be sent to Virginia, as the wages paid in the Colony were intolerable. A maid was engaged by Sir Edmund Plowden in 16-43, at the rate of four pounds sterling annually, payable in merchandise valued at its first cost in England ; ^ three years later, he de- clared that he was unable to hire for thirty days a servant supplied with clothing for less than two hundred pounds of tobacco. It was at this time that John Weekes of York agreed to work during two months for William Light of the same county in return for a bed, a bolster and blanket, and a pair of pot-hooks.* In 1649, annual wages ranged from three pounds sterling to ten or their equiva- lent in tobacco.^ If the laborer had come over at the expense of his employer, the amount of his remuneration was diminished by his being required to return the sum spent in meeting the charges of his passage, but this was carefully proportioned to the four years covered by the

1 Abstracts of Proceedings of the Virginia Company of London, vol. I, p. 188.

2 Sandys to Wrote, Neill's Virginia Vetiista, p. 123.

3 Archives of Maryland, Judicial and Testamentary Business, vol. 1637-1650, p. 224.

* Records of York County, vol. 1638-1648, p. 321, Va. State Library. 5 Bullock's Virginia, p. 52.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 49

contract. When he had been in the Colony many years, he was exempted from such a deduction. In payment for services extending over a period of twelve months, Stephen Tarleton of York, in 1666, delivered to Edward Jenkins one suit of broadcloth and one of kersey, two shirts, a hat, one pair of shoes, and two pairs of stockings. ^

In 1680, the w^ages of a hired laborer did not in Vir- ginia differ substantially in amount from the wages of a servant engaged in the same character of Avork in England. Fitzhugh, writing about this time to his agent in London, requests him to send him a trained housekeeper, offering to pay her passage money ; to allow her three pounds sterling by the year ; and to furnish her with food with- out charge. He considered that this w^ould be highly acceptable, as the remuneration, he said, would be equal to that which was received by the same class of domestics in the mother country. ^

In a contract between Mrs. Weldon of York and Isabel Nicholas in 1684, the former promised to pay the latter for domestic service, to be prolonged over a period of one year, fifty-five shillings, a new apron being given as an earnest of the bargain.^ So high were the average wages at this time that it was thought in some instances that no profit was to be derived from hired labor.* How great wages were in cases probably not considered extraordinary, may be seen in the agreement between Josephine Chowne and John Corbett of Elizabeth City County in 1697, by the terms of wdiich Mrs. Chowne was to receive remuneration for her work during a period of two months and a half, at

1 Eecords of Tork County, vol. 1G64-1G72, p. 106, Va. State Library. The service was sometimes in compensation for a wilful act. See Ibid., 1684-1687, p. 58.

2 Letters of William Fitzhugh, July 1, 1680.

3 Eecords of York County, vol. 1684-1687, p. 59, Va. State Library.

* accords of Henrico County, vol. 1677-1692, p. 250, Va. State Library.

VOL. II. — E

60 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

tlie rate of five pounds sixteen shillings and six pence a month. ^ The average wages by the year appear to have been at the close of the century six pounds sterling,^ or if paid in tobacco, fourteen hundred pounds of this com- modity, with one pair of shoes and one pair of stockings. The rate by the day was twelve pence. ^

If these wages were carefully husbanded, they could be invested in ways that were certain to bring handsome returns. Bullock has left an interesting opinion as to the disposition which a hired laborer at this time should make of his earnings. A part of the sum received should go to the purchase of a heifer, and the remainder be spent in buying three or four flitches of bacon for exportation to England, where they could be easily sold for two pounds three shillings and four pence sterling. This amount was to be expended in combs, laces, and pins, which com- manded in Virginia double the price current in the mother country, ensuring the owner upon his original outlay in bacon not less than five pounds sterling. In the interval, the cow which he had purchased had probably given birth to a calf, and the wages of the second year had been received. At the end of four years, Bullock estimated

1 Eecords of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1684-1699, p. 415, Va. State Library.

2 Becords of Henrico County, vol. 1688-1692, p. 136, Va. State Library.

3 Becords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1679-1694, p. 695. "Jeremy Overy of Middlesex County is indebted to Hugh Conaway:

16 days vrork in May @ 12'' per day

17 days work in June @ 12'' per day 2 days work in . . . @ 12'' per day

15 days work in October @ 12'' per day 1694." The following is an entry in the Becords of Iliddlesex : — "Judgment is granted to Joan Peirce against M"" Thomas Landon for the sum of 8 ^ Sterling due for two years' wages." Original vol. 1694- 1705, p. 120.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 51

that the Laborer, by the exercise of sound judgment in his trading, ought to have accumulated sixty pounds sterling, and if he had been allowed by his employer to cultivate a patch of tobacco of his own, this sum would be very materially increased. ^

The women who were exported from England to the Colony had unusual opportunities of advancing their wel- fare in life. If they enjoyed an honorable reputation, they found no difficulty in marrying into a higher station than they had been accustomed to ; Bullock mentions the fact that no maid whom he had brought over failed to find a husband in the course of the first three months after she had entered into his service. The fortunes of these im- ported women were frequently superior to their deserts, for a large proportion of them were considered to be worthless. 2

The number of persons in the Colony who had been condemned to servitude for violating the law was always small, and in 1642, the statute prescribing this form of punishment, which had been passed in 1619, was abolished.-"^

The salable value of the servant depended in principal measure on the length of time which his indenture still had to run. It was of course affected by the degree of his physical strength. Striking the general average for the series of years represented in the uncompleted terms appraised in the inventories of estates entered in the county court records, the following will be found to be substantially correct : a man having still one year unex- pired, ranged in value from two pounds sterling to four ; having two years, from six pounds sterling to eight ; hav- ing three years, from eight to fourteen pounds sterling ; having four years, from eleven to fifteen pounds sterling ;

1 Bullock's Virginia, pp. 52, 53.

2 Letters of William FitsJmgh, July 1, 1680.

3 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 259.

52 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

having five years, from twelve pounds sterling to sixteen; having six years, from thirteen pounds sterling to seven- teen.

The value of female servants was fixed at lower rates. Thus a woman having one year of her term unexpired was appraised at a figure ranging from one to three pounds sterling ; having two years, from three to five pounds sterling ; having three years, from four to eight pounds sterling ; having four years, from eight pounds sterling to twelve ; having five years, from twelve pounds sterling to fourteen ; having six years, she was appraised at a figure which did not exceed fifteen pounds sterling. ^

There are many indications that the largest proportion of the negro servants who were found in the Colony in the seventeenth century were mulattoes, who had either been set free by their white fathers or were sprung from emanci- pated African mothers. The county records show the pres- ence of numerous persons of half blood who were earning a livelihood under ordinary covenants for a comparatively short time, or who had been bound out until they should reach their majority. If the mulatto was the offspring of a white woman, his period of service was extended by the vestry, which had all bastards at their disposal, to his thirtieth year. Among those who were employed by Robert Dudley of Middlesex just before his death, was a mulatto woman whose term was to expire at the end of two years. 2 The estate of Mrs. Rowland Jones of York, in 1689, included among its items of property a mulatto man who had sixteen years to serve. ^ Colonel John Walker

1 These estimates are based upon hundreds of entries found in the in- ventories of personal estates preserved in tlie county records.

'^ Becords of Middlesex Connty, original vol. 1698-1713, p. 103; see also Becords of York County, vol. 1687-1091, p. 558, Va. State Library.

3 Becords of York County, vol. 1687-1691, p. 381, Va. State Library.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 53

was the owner of an African apprentice whose indenture was to remain in force for twenty-eight years. ^ Among the laborers of Mr. George Light was a negro who had come into Virginia a free man, and bound himself out for a period of five.^

Uj)on the close of the negro's term, he was entitled to tlie same quantity of clothing and corn as the white ser- vant. Independent provision was often made for him in the indenture itself. In 1685, William, the son of a mulatto woman named Katharine Sewell, was appren- ticed to William Booth of York for a period of thirty years. Booth agreeing not only to supply him with the usual quantity of food and raiment, and to provide him with the customary lodging, but also on his reaching his fourteenth year, to give him a heifer, whose increase was to be carefully preserved for his benefit until his term expired. 3 In some cases, the negro servant was permitted to raise hogs on condition that he turn over to his master one-half of the amount obtained from their sale.*

There is no reason to think that the negro servant was appraised lower in inventories than the white. His labor was equally as valuable, and he was probably much more easily controlled, an element of special advantage in em- ploying him.

There were found in Virginia in the seventeenth cen- tury a number of persons of Turkish blood, who had been imported like English laborers under the terms of ordinary indentures. One of the head rights which Francis Yeardley, in 1647, gave in to obtain a patent to land in Lower Nor- folk was acquired by his importation of Simon, who was

1- Becords of General Court, p. 119.

2 Ibid, p. 161.

3 Becords of York County, vol. 1684-1687, p. 61, Va. State Library.

* General Court Orders, March 31, 1641, Bobinson Transcripts, p. 30.

64 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

of Turkish nationality. ^ Jonathan Newell of York County owned four Turkish servants, whose value was placed at the very high figure of ninety-five pounds sterling. ^ The inventory of the estate of George Jones of Rappahannock included a Turk whose term had still seven years to run. In the last decade of the century, a suit was entered in York by Mathew Catillah, probably an Algerian, for the recovery of his freedom, his mistress retaining him beyond his twenty -fourth year.^

The greater number of the Indian servants were children, many of whom were of a very tender age, the explanation of this circumstance lying in the fact that Indian parents were always at liberty to bind out their offspring as apprentices. Doubtless, too, it was recognized by the planters that the younger the Indian, the greater the probability that he might be educated to become tract- able and useful. The grown persons of the race, when reduced to this condition, were in most cases unmanage- able, and hardly worth the constant attention required to control them. In every agreement which an Indian parent in disposing of his son or daughter entered into, a cove- nant had to be inserted providing that the child should be instructed in the Christian religion. The contract, as a whole, was to be sworn to before two justices of the peace in order to exclude the possibility of collusion.* The regulation was established and strictly enforced that

1 Records of Lower Norfolk, original vol. 1646-1651, f. p. 50. A Turk was imported by George Menefie in 1635. See Va. Land Patents, vol. I, p. 200.

2 Records of York County, vol. 1675-1684, p. 142, Va. State Library.

3 Ibid., vol. 1694-1697, p. 135, Va. State Library. References to Portu- guese servants will be found in Records of York Gountij, vol. 1687-1691, p. 558, Va. State Library, and in Records of Northampton County, original vol. 1664-1674, f. p. 138.

* Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 410.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 55

all Indian children who had been obtained by the planters with the assistance of Indian kidnappers, or who had been procured from their fathers directly by means of fraud, and then held, on the claim that they had been purchased for an adequate consideration, were to be returned to the place to which they belonged within ten days after it had been shown that they had been wrongfully acquired. ^ The master of a young Indian was not permitted to carry him out of the country until the local court had received satisfactory evidence that the consent of his parents had been obtained.^ Youthful servants of this race were, ordered to be brought before that body to have their age inquired into and adjudged, so that they might be included among the tithables, if they had reached the degree of maturity prescribed.

In his relation to his master, the Indian servant stood upon precisely the same footing as the white ;3 he too was held strictly to the observance of his obligation to work, and he also could not be retained longer than the legal period. In some particulars, the law was more unbending in the case of an Indian than of a white person, since it was desirable to avoid all causes of conflict with the neighboring tribes. No servant of aboriginal blood could be owned without a special license from the Governor, and his master had to place himself under bonds to be responsible for all injuries and damages which he might

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, pp. 481, 482.

2 Ibid., p. 546.

3 The master was required, as in tlie case of white and negro servants, to supply the Indian with proper clothing, food, and shelter. The pro- vision in the matter of garments made for one of the Indian servants of "William Randolph of Henrico County, in 1696, was one leather and one cotton waistcoat, one pair of leather breeches, one pair of shoes, and one pair of stockings. Original vol. 1677-1699, Orders, Oct. 1, 1696, p. 124.

56 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

inflict. Unlike members of the same sex among tlie whites, the women of the race whose ages exceeded sixteen years were hekl to be tithable whether they were em- ployed in the field or not, and in this they occnpied the same position as negresses.^ The value of the Indian ser- vant, whether male or female, did not differ materially from that of the English or African.

1 Heuiug's Statutes, vol. II, p. 492.

CHAPTER XI

SYSTEM OF LABOR: THE SLAVE

The introduction of the African into Virginia was an event that was certain to occur in time. The institution of slavery sprang up there under the operation of an irre- sistible economic law, and was to continue in undiminished vigor until it vanished in the conflagration of battle. A few negroes doubtless would have been brought into the Colony in the seventeenth century even if its soil had been incapable of producing tobacco. In this respect, the his- tory of New England would have been repeated. The enlargement of the area under cultivation in that plant in Virginia signified an enormous increase in the number of imported slaves as soon as the proper facilities for their transportation had been established; it was not until the last quarter of the seventeenth century was reached that these facilities had been established on a scale fairly com- mensurate with the demand for labor in the Colony. The institution of slavery played there but an insignificant part in the course of the greater portion of this century, not because the African was looked on as an undesirable element in the local industrial system, but because the means of obtaining the individuals of this race were very limited. The value of the negro as an agricultural factor was clearly understood. The strongest competitors of Vir- ginia in the production of its principal commodity were the Spanish Colonies in the South, where the plant was culti-

58 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

vated by the slaves imported from the coast of Africa or sprung from parents of African nativity. The climate of Virginia, it is true, was less oppressive to the European laborer than the climate of the West Indies, but the economic reasons which made the negro a more useful and profitable hand in the cultivation of a great staple like tobacco, were just as applicable to him in the valleys of the James and York as in the islands of Cuba and San Domingo.

One of the most serious drawbacks to the employment of indented laborers was the inevitable frequency of change attending this form of service. In a few years, as soon as the time for which the servant had been bound under the articles of his contract or by the custom of the country had come to an end, his place had to be supplied by another person of the same class. Whenever a planter brought in a laborer at his own expense, or purchased his term from the local or foreign merchant who had transported him to the Colony, the planter was compelled to bear in mind the day when he would no longer have a right to claim the benefit of his servant's energies because his control over him had expired by limitation. He might introduce a hundred willing laborers, who might prove invaluable to him during the time covered by their cove- nants, but in a few years, when experience had made them efficient, and their bodies had become thoroughly enured to the change of climate, they recovered their freedom, and, if they felt the inclination to do so, as the great ma- jority naturally did, were at liberty to abandon his estate and begin the cultivation of tobacco on their own account, or follow the trades in which they had been educated. Unless the planter had been careful to make provision against their departure by the importation of other laborers, he was left in a helpless position without men to

SYSTEM OF LABOR 59

tend or reap his crops or to widen the area of his new grounds. It was not simply the desire to become an owner of a great extent of land that prompted the Vir- ginian in the seventeenth century to bring in successive bands of persons whose transportation entitled him to a proportionate number of head rights. Perhaps in a majority of cases, his object was to obtain laborers whom he might substitute for those whose terms were on the point of expiring. It was this constantly recurring necessity, which must have been the source of much anxiety and annoyance as well as heavy pecuniary outlay, that led the planters to prefer youths to adults among the imported English agricultural servants, for while their physical strength might have been less, yet the periods for which they were bound extended over a longer time.

It can be readily seen that from this economic point of view, the slave was a far more desirable form of property than the white servant. His term was for life, not for a few years. There was no solicitude as to how his place was to be filled, for he belonged to his master as long as he lived, and when he died he generally left behind him a family of children who were old enough to furnish valu- able aid in the tobacco fields. In physical strength he was the equal of the white laborer of the same age, and in power of endurance he was the superior. Whilst some of the negroes imported into the Colony, more especially those snatched directly from a state of freedom in Africa, were doubtless in some measure difficult to manage, the slaves as a rule were docile and tractable, and, when natives of Virginia, not disposed to rebel against the con- dition of life in which they found themselves. Not only were they more easily controlled than the white servants, but they also throve on plainer fare and were satisfied with humbler lodgings. Nor were they subject to season-

60 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

ing, a cause of serious loss in the instance of the white hxborers. Moreover, they coukl not demand the grain and clothing which the custom of the country had pre- scribed in favor of the white servants at the close of their terms, and which constituted an important drain upon the resources of the planters. It is true that the master was required to provide for his slave in old age when he could make no return because incajDable of further effort, but the expense which this entailed was insignificant.

It would appear for these reasons that even in the sev- enteenth century, the labor of slaves after the heavy out- lay in securing it had been met, was cheaper than the labor of indented white servants,^ although the latter class of persons stood upon the same footing as the former as long as their terms continued. This was the opinion of men who had resided in the Colony for many years, and enjoyed the fullest opportunity of observing the operation of the local system of agriculture. The wastefulness of slave labor, which has always been considered to be the most serious drawback attached to it as compared with free labor, was of smaller importance in that age than when the whole area of Virginia had been divided into separate plantations, and the extent of the untouched soil had become limited to a degree demanding more skilful and more careful methods in the cultivation of the ground. In the seventeenth century, there was no ele- ment of wealth so abundant as the new lands covered by the fertile mould which had been accumulating on their surface for many thousand years. The planter availed himself of their productiveness in reckless haste, soon reducing the rich loam to barrenness, but in doing so he was pursuing a more profitable course and a more econom-

1 Instructions to Culpeper, 1681-1682 ; his reply to § 59, McDonald Papers, vol. VI, p. 155, Va. State Library,

SYSTEM OF LABOR 61

ical plan than if he had endeavored to restore the original quality of the soil. If it had been possible to obtain do- mestic or imported manures at a small expense, it would still have been cheaper in the end, the volume of the annual crop being considered, to extend the clearings and to leave nature to bring back the abandoned fields to their primaeval excellence. The Virginian planter of the seventeenth century was apparently the greatest of agricultural spendthrifts, but in reality he was only adapting himself to surrounding conditions, which were the reverse of those prevailing in the mother country, Avhere art had to be called in to preserve the ground from the destructive effect of long-continued tillage. Intro- duced into the Colony where the first principle of agri- culture was to abuse because the virgin lands were unlimited in quantity, the institution of slavery was not lessened in value from an industrial point of view by the fact that it did not promote economical methods in the use of the soil.

There is, however, serious reason for doubting whether the charge of wastefulness brought against slave labor in Virginia, not only in the colonial period but in the period between the Revolution and the War between the States, was not to be laid at the door of the great staple, tobacco, rather than at the door of the institution of slavery itself. No country devoted exclusively to the cultivation of this staple is likely to present an appear- ance of thrift, unless its surface should be occupied by small proprietors working their own estates, and making use of every foot of available ground. The tobacco plant requires for its production loam in the greatest quantity and of the highest quality. There is always a disposition on the part of those engaged in its culti- vation to widen the plantation, even now, when arti-

62 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VirwGINIA

ficial manures are so effective in bringing back the fer- tility which lias been lost. The newly cleared field is still the soil which is most desired, and there is still and will always be the same inclination to rely on nature for the restoration of land. This is not the fault of in- herited carelessness in agriculture, but it is a condition which has descended from the seventeenth to the present century in a form modified only by the growth of popu- lation. If the culture of tobacco were very profitable, the tendency to enlarge eacli estate would be just as strong to-day in Virginia, with labor emancipated, as it was during the existence of slavery. That institution only promoted the extension of the plantation by cheap- ening labor to the lowest point, which to that degree increased the owner's returns from his crops, enabling him to invest a greater sum each year in land. During the first sixty years in the history of the Colony, the slave was an insignificant element in the community, and yet during this long period there are to be observed the most marked indications of the tendency to appropriate large tracts. This disposition was manifest from the start, as the result not of the character of the labor system in operation, but of the nature of tobacco itself. The sys- tem of labor permitted the exhibition of this disposition but did not create it. The agriculture of Virginia did not reach an extraordinary degree of prosperity until the administration of Spotswood,i and this is to be par- tially explained by the fact that not until one hundred years had passed was the number of slaves imported into

1 Hugh Jones states that "the Country (Vh-ginia) may be said to be altered and improved in wealth and Polite Learning within these few years since the beginning of Gov. Spotswood's Government more than in all the Scores of years before that, from its first Discovery." Present State of Virginia, 1724, p. 53.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 63

the Colony equal to the demand for their services. The most prosperous period in the history of Virginia was perhaps the interval extending from 1710 to 1770. The people during this time had not only a staple that com- manded a high price in foreign markets, but also the most inexpensive system of labor, in the light of the peculiar phj^sical conditions prevailing, which could have been adopted. The institution of slavery had not been developed sufficiently in the seventeenth century to bring about results approaching those which were observed in the eighteenth. If for every servant brought into the Colony between 1675 and 1700 a negro had been substi- tuted, the accumulation of wealth by the planters would during this period have been more rapid than it was, not on account of their ability to raise a larger quantity of tobacco for sale, which would have been undesirable, as the supply throughout the century was even larger than the demand, but on account of that curtailment in the cost of production which would have followed from the employ- ment of laborers bound for life and not for a term of years. There w^ere no scruples in the minds of the English people of that age, whether residents of England itself or citizens of the Colonies, against the enslavement of the negro and the appropriation of the fruits of his toil. Even those most fully informed as to the terrible features of the middle passage were inclined to agree with Sir John Hawkins in his memorable reply to Queen Eliza- beth when reproached by her for the horrors attending the trade in human beings which this distinguished Englishman had been the first of his nation to begin. Admitting the correctness of the reports made to his sovereign, he claimed that the condition of the slave in America was less deplorable than the condition of the freeman in Africa, and that in removing the negro from

64 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

a land of idolatry to a land in which Christianity pre- vailed, a service had been conferred upon the whole African race.^ As late as the end of the seventeenth century, the belief was held by many, even in England, that the negro was not a man but a wild beast, marked by an intelligence hardly superior to that of a monkey, and with instincts and habits far more debased. ^ He was considered to be stupid in mind, savage in manners, and brutal in his impulses, and the multitudes that were transported across the ocean justified the apparent harsh- ness of this judgment. It was an age, however, in which little mercy was shown to the lower races by the higher, unless the lower were in a position to inflict injury upon the higher. The Caribs in the West Indian Islands had swiftly melted away under the stress of the unaccus- tomed tasks which were imposed upon them. The Eng- lishman of the seventeenth century was in no way as cruel as the Spaniard of the sixteenth, but it is not improbable that if the Indian tribes of Virginia had been as mild and tractable in their disposition as their fellows in the islands of the Spanish Main, they would at first have been brought under a yoke at best heavy and exacting. The consider- ation which the aborigines received from the English settlers was due in the largest measure perhaps, not to a sense of justice and humanity, which, as we have seen, was far from lacking, but to a well-founded apprehension of the savage courage and the restless spirit of the natives.

1 Williams' History of the JSfegro JRace in America, p. 138.

2 Godwyn's Negro''s and Indian's Advocate (1680), pp. 11, 12, 13, 14. Godwyn argues very gravely, " methinks the consideration of the shape and figure of our negroes' Bodies, their Limbs and Members, their Voice and Countenance in all things according with other Men's ; together with their Risibility and Discourse (Man's peculiar Faculties) should be a suffi- cient conviction," p. 13. This pamphlet throws a curious light upon the general view taken of the negro in the seventeenth century,

SYSTEM OF LABOR 65

The African was totally devoid of the power to resist, and Avas easily and permanently subdued by the exercise of force. There was a growing demand for labor in the New World, and thither he was drawn without opposition on his part, to become in time the mudsill upon which the social organization of a large part of the Western Hemisphere was to rest. Not only were there sincere doubts in the minds of many Englishmen as to whether the place of the negro in the general system of life was higher than that of the horse or the ox, but there was a belief that if he were indeed a member of the human family, he belonged to a race of men who, as the descendants of Ham, had been cursed by God him- self, and so branded for all time as servants of superior races, without claim to the fruits of their own arduous labor. 1 This was thought to be in itself a justification for African slavery. Its significance was as deeply im- pressed upon the minds of the colonists in Virginia as it was upon the minds of the colonists in Barbadoes and the Somers Isles. ^ And yet it is a remarkable fact, that not until many years after the introduction of the negro into Virginia, do we find him referred to in the statute book as a slave ; in the beginning, he was simply a ser- vant for life, different only from the white servant in the length of his term of service.

The first cargo of negroes brought into Virginia was transported thither without there having been any pre- vious arrangement on the part of the planters to receive them upon their arrival. They were introduced under the

1 " They make them the Posterity of that unhappy son of Noah, who, they say, was together with his whole Family and Race cursed by his father. . . . For from thence, as occasion shall offer they'll infer their negro's Brutality ; justifie their reduction of him under bondage . . ." Godwyn's Negroes and Indian's Advocate, pp. 14, 43.

2 The Bermudas.

bo ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

impression that they coukl be disposed of with ease be- cause of the growing demand for labor in the cultivation of tobacco. The system of indented service had by this time been firmly established, and under the wise admin- istration of Sir George Yeardley the Colony itself had entered upon that course of expansion in wealth and population which, with the exception of a brief interval occasioned by the massacre of 1622, was to show a steady progress with the passage of each decade. In 1619, at the moment when the settlers were beginning to feel the first beneficent effects of a milder government, twenty Africans were disembarked from a Dutch priva- teer, presumably at Jamestown, as the place where a market was most readily found for a cargo of laborers. The ill-fated vessel, which was destined to earn by this single act in its career a sinister immortality in history, was sailing under letters of marque from the Prince of Orange, and had been cruising in the Spanish Main for the purpose of capturing Spanish prizes. The rapacious and unscrupulous ArgoU seems to have been indirectly connected with this introduction of the negro into the Colony, and was, therefore, partly, although remotel}^, responsible for it. Before the close of his term as Gov- ernor he had dispatched to the West Indies a ship, sent to him by the Earl of Warwick and sailing under a commission from the Duke of Savoy, to make raids upon Spanish shipping. This vessel was ordered to bring back to the Colony a load of salt and goats, but it was sus- pected at the time that its real object was to ravage the commerce of Spain.

ArgoU during his administration had sought to reduce all the resources of the Colony to his own immediate profit, without regard to public or private interests. It seems probable, therefore, that the introduction of slave

SYSTEM OF LABOR 67

labor occurred to liim as an enterprise which would be likely to result in gain to himself and his patrons. While cruising in the West Indies, his vessel, the Treasurer^ fell in accidentally with a Dutch privateer and remained in company with her. It was from the officers of the Treasurer that the commander of this ship perhaps learned that a market for the sale of negroes could be found in Virginia, for, after touching at the Bermudas, the vessel proceeded to that Colony, which she readied in the month of August, Yeardley in the meanwhile having taken the place of Argoll, who had a few days before the arrival of the new Governor returned by stealth to England. The Treasurer arrived in Virginia in the course of the same summer as the Dutch privateer, but, meeting with a cold reception, she turned back to the Ber- mudas, carrying with her a number of slaves, who were placed upon the lands which the Earl of Warwick owned in that island. ^ During her stay in the Colony, she seems to have disembarked only one negro, so far as the records show. 2

It has been suggested that the first negroes introduced into Virginia after its occupation by the English were imported in the Treasurer^ and not in the Dutch priva- teer. ^ All the evidence which has been published goes to confirm the statement of Rolfe, that the latter and

1 Pory to Carleton, Neill's Virginia Vetusta, p. 113.

2 See Census 16:^4-25, Hotten's Original List of Emigrants, 1600- 1700, p. 224. The name of this negro, who was a woman, was Angela.

3 Among others by Mr. Alexander Brown in the Genesis of the United States. In his biography of Captain Elfrith, p. 886, he expresses the opinion that the report given of the " cold reception ' ' of the Treasurer was written for the purpose of diverting the attention of the Spaniards, and he states that " he has several documents in the premises (which have never been printed) giving ample information." I have not had an opportunity of examining these documents.

G8 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

not the former vessel was responsible for this ill-omened addition to the population of the Colony. One of the first acts of Governor Yeardley after his arrival at James- town was to inform Sir Edwin Sandys in England, that it was generally believed in Virginia that the only object which those in charge of the Treasurer had in view in their West Indian voyage was to make an incursion upon the Spanish islands in that quarter, a purpose not inconsis- tent with the character of similar incursions which had been promoted by the Earl of Warwick, the principal owner of the vessel. The attention of the Council was called to the expedition, but that body decided to dis- miss the whole matter without prejudice to Warwick, who might have been seriously compromised if it had been shown that he had been engaged in a piratical attack upon the commerce and property of Spanish sub- jects in the "West Indies. The English King was at this time very solicitous to preserve the utmost amity in his relations with Spain. After a short interval, a second communication was received from Governor Yeardley, announcing that the Treasurer had returned to Vir- ginia, but had met with a reception so little cordial that she had soon departed, leaving behind a lieutenant, who had admitted that those in command of the ship were deeply involved in outrageous depredations upon the Spanish possessions in the South. ^ This news created a great commotion in the Council. Sandys had called that body together for the special purpose of inducing it to inform the Spanish Ambassador and the Privy Council of the lawless course which had been pursued by the owners of the Treasurer. It is obvious from these proceedings how determined the new administration in England was

1 Manchester Papers, Boyal Hist. 3ISS. Commission, Eighth Report, Appx., p. 35.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 69

that tlie Colony should not rest under the slightest suspi- cion that the Company was giving countenance to the piracy of Warwick and Argoll. That Yeardley under- stood the importance of keeping clear of the same im- putation, is proved by the fact that he was so hostile to the vessel upon the strength of rumor alone that the master, in order to evade arrest, set sail instantly when he discovered that Argoll had taken flight. ^ This did not prevent the vigilant Governor from dispatching a full account of all that could be learned about the Treas- urer to the authorities of the Company in England. Entertaining this feeling towards the ship, and being fully aware of the extreme peril both to himself and to the safety of the Colony that would arise from show- ing consideration to a vessel which had excited the violent animosity of the Spanish Power, it seems wholly improb- able that he would have entered into negotiations with Captain Elfrith for the purchase of the slaves contained in his ship. To have done so would have been to call down the wrath of the Spaniard upon Virginia at a time when it was the policy of the home as well as the colonial government to avert it. To give a cold reception to the Treasurer was the natural and prudent course to pursue, and that this was done, both Yeardley and Pory assert with equal clearness. If the negroes on board had been Avithdrawn from the ship by force, Warwick would have advanced the same claim to them which he afterwards advanced to the fourteen whom the Treasurer disembarked at the Bermudas subsequent to her departure from Virginia. No such claim was made. It is equally significant that in the census taken in 1624-25 but one negro is mentioned as having been imported into

1 Abstracts of Proceedings of the Virginia Company of London, vol. II, p. 197.

70 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

the Colony in this vessel. If all had arrived in Virginia in her bottom, the same fact would have been stated in connection with each slave. It is equally significant that a large ]3roportion of the Africans introduced in 1619 were jDlaced upon the lands assigned to the office of the Governor. It seems improbable that Yeardley, a man of prudence and discretion, would, even as a feint, send a dispatch to England in open condemnation of the piratical voyage of the Treasurer at the very moment he proposed to reap important benefits from that voyage by purchasing, for the use of tenants in his service, the negroes who constituted the principal prize of the incur- sion from which the Treasurer had just returned.

In the space of five years immediately following 1619, the number of Africans in the Colony was increased by two. The muster taken of the population in 1624-25 discloses the presence of twenty-two as compared with the twenty brought in by the Dutch privateer, but one of these two additions is accounted for by the fact that the Treasurer had landed a negro in Virginia in 1619, and the other had been imported in the Swan in 1623.^ The two children in- cluded in the lists of the muster, it may be, were born on the North American continent. Their ages are not given, which makes it impossible to state this with confidence. ^ If under five years, they were natives of the Colony, but

1 Census of 1624-25, Hotten's Original List of Emigrants, 1600- 1700, p. 258.

2 If born in Virginia, two of the negroes forming the cargo of 1619 must liave died. Of this there is no record. The two additions to the original number, as shown by the census of 1624-25, are accounted for by the two negroes brought in by the Treasurer and Swan, from which it may be reasonably inferred that the two negro children mentioned in the census of 1624-25 had been counted in the importation of 1619. If none had died in the interval, the census of 1624-25 would have shown, in case the two children had been born in Virginia, the presence of twenty-four instead of twenty-two slaves in the Colony.

SYSTEM OF LABOE 71

if over five years, they were born at sea or in the West Indies. While the mind cannot contemplate the birth of the first negro on North American soil with the same emotions as those aroused by the birth of Virginia Dare.^ the event nevertheless was one which cannot be regarded without a feeling of the profoundest interest when we re- flect upon its association with the great events which were to come after. Whichever of these children, if either, was born in Virginia, it was the first of his race who could claim a nativity in the soil and an absolute identi- fication with its history. 2

It is an interesting fact that no African perished in the massacre of 1622, when three hundred and forty-five of the colonists fell by the tomahawks and arrows of the Indians. This can only be explained on the ground that their color had been influential in saving them from the ferocity of the savages. More than two years had passed since their arrival in Virginia, which allowed a sufficient interval for their partial distribution among the different settlements. Many of the negroes were doubtless still at Jamestown, one of the few places in the Colony from which the massacre was averted, but a number must have been at Fleur de Hundred, which did not escajDe that terrible visitation. Of the twenty-two negroes in Virginia in 162-3, eleven were living at Fleur de Hundred, four at Warrasquoke,.two at Elizabeth City, one at Jamestown Neck, three at Jamestown, and one on the plantation on the banks of the Powhatan opposite to that place. Their failure to increase in number during the five years imme-

1 The first English child born in North America.

^ The Spaniards are said to have occupied Jamestown Island in the previous century and to have sought to make a permanent settlement there, partly by means of the labors of their negro slaves. See Prof. John Fiske's valuable and interesting Short History of the United States, pp. 42, 4.:].

72 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIKGINIA

diately following their introduction was due to the separa- tion of the sexes, as disclosed by the records. Thus, of the eleven at Fleur de Hundred, in 1623, one alone apparently was of the female sex. Two, perhaps all, of the three at Jamestown were women. The only negro at Jamestown Neck was a man. This was also true of the one on the plantation lying across the river from Jamestown. Of the four negroes at Warrasquoke, two were women. ^

An examination as to the ownership of the negroes in 1625, reveals the fact that there was greater opportunity for their increase at that time than in 1623. On one of the tracts of public land which Governor Yeardley had under cultivation, there were five female slaves and three male. Richard Kingsmill and Captain West respectively were in possession of one male slave. Abraham Piersey, the for- mer Cape Merchant, a man of considerable fortune, was the owner of four male slaves and two female. On the plantation of Captain Tucker, there was a family of slaves composed of a husband, wife, and child. There was also a slave husband and wife on the Bennett estate. ^ The names which these negroes bore would seem to show that they had been captured, as has been suggested, on the high seas, and had after their arrival in the Colony been given English appellations ; the name of one alone is of Spanish origin, the negress who had been brought in by the Treasurer being known as Angela. When at a later period slaves were imported into Virginia from the Span- ish West Indies, it was the custom of many who bought them as a basis for patents, to retain their Spanish desig-

1 List of the Livingfe and Dead in Virginia, Feb. 16, 1623, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. Ill, No. 2 ; Colonial Becords of Virginia, State Senate Doct., Extra, 1874, p. 41. Angela at Jamestown was doubtless the woman brought in by the Treasurer.

2 See Hotten's Original Lists of Emigrants to America, 1600-1700, pp. 202-265.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 73

nations. The custom was not always followed, but was observed, as we will show hereafter, with sufficient strict- ness to give much valuable information as to the origin of the negroes who were entered to secure head rights. The Africans forming the cargo of the Dutch privateer that arrived in 1619 were known after their distribution among the plantations by such English names as Peter, Anthony, Frank, and jSIargaret, but these might have been the anglicized forms of the original Spanish names.

Five years after the census of 1624-25 was taken, from which it appears that there were twenty-two Africans in the Colony at that time, an important addition was made to the slave population by Captain Grey, who, during a cruise in the ship Fortune of London had encountered a vessel loaded with negroes from the Angola coast, cap- tured her and brought her cargo into Virginia. This cargo he exchanged there for eighty-five hogsheads and five butts of tobacco, which Avere afterwards transported to England for sale. It would seem that no difficulty was found in disposing of these slaves, although they were rude savages stolen only a few weeks before from their native country. The demand for labor was now so urgent that these untrained barbarians were doubtless purchased in haste. 1

So far as can now be discovered, all the negroes im- ported into the Colony in the course of the first half of the seventeenth century were brought in like the cargoes of the Dutch privateer in 1619, and the Fortune in 1629, by independent ships and by individual enterprise. The first charter for the acquisition of slaves which was granted in this century to an organized body by the

1 John Ellzeye to Edward Nicholas, Dom. Cor. Charles I, vol. 105, No. 35, Sainshury Abstracts for 1628, p. 185, Va. State Library. The name appears sometimes as Guy, a misprint probably for Grey.

74 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

English Government, was in 1618, when the exclusive privilege was conferred upon the Earl of Warwick and his associates of carrying on a traffic of this kind on the Guinea coast. As has been seen in connection with the Treasurer, which, if not the property of the Company, was owned by its leading members, the restriction to this coast was not strictly observed in its operation. The fact that the vessel, although belonging to men who Avere licensed to trade in slaves, was turned away from James- town in the summer of 1619 without being permitted to dispose of the negroes on board, is an additional indica- tion of how solicitous the Governor at that time was that Virginia should not be drawn into any complication with the Spanish Power. There is no evidence to show that the Fortune, which was commanded by Captain Grey, was connected with the Company over which Warwick pre- sided. She was probably an independent vessel engaged in general commerce.

In 1631, the year following the seizure of the Angola slaver, a charter was obtained from Charles the First by an association that went to an extraordinary expense in making every provision for securing the traffic of the Guinea coast, inclusive of the barter in negroes. The importation into Virginia of Africans by the agency either direct or indirect of this Company must have been small, as eighteen years subsequent to the acquisition of its charter the number in the Colony did not exceed three hundred. A part of this number is to be attributed to natural increase, for thirty years had now passed since the negro was first landed in Virginia. A fair proportion of the three hundred, however, had been introduced by planters or shipowners, the principle of the head right having been adjudged to apply to the slave as well as to the indented servant. The first instance recorded in the

SYSTEM OF LABOK 75

l^atents now preserved in the office of the Register at Richmond, of a grant of fifty acres on the basis of a head riglit allowed for the importation of an African, is that in connection with Angela, who belonged to Richard Bennett.! This was in 1635, in which year twenty-six negroes were introduced into Virginia. The person who brought in the largest number was Charles Harmar, who added four men and four women to the slave population. ^ The extent of the increase in 1636 did not exceed seven, the importation by individual planters being in no case larger than two. In 1637, twenty-eight negroes were introduced, Henry Browne being the importer of eight. In 1638, the number amounted to thirty. The planters who obtained head rights on the basis of these thirty slaves included such leading citizens as Francis Ejjes, John Banister, Randall Crew, Christopher Wormeley, George Menefie, Thomas Harris, John Robbins, and Rich- ard Kemp. Richard Kemp brought in eleven and George Menefie twenty-three. ^ It is stated that the whole num- ber of Africans introduced in this year by the latter were from England. In 1639, only forty-six negroes were added to the slave population of the Colony, of whom fifteen were imported by George Menefie and twelve by Henry Perr3^* The number in 1642 amounted to seven only ; in 1643 to eighteen, and in 1649 to seventeen, of whom a large majority were introduced by Ralph Worme- le}-.^ In the interval between 1649 and 1659 there seems to have been little fluctuation in the volume of the impor- tations. The greatest number of negroes brought in in one body in this interval were introduced in 1656, when

1 Va. Land Patents, vol. 1G23-1G43, p. 187. See also head rights of patent granted to David Jones in the same year.

2 Ihid, vol. 1623-1643, p. 246. * Ibid., vol. 1623-1643, pp. 705. 771.

3 Ibid., vol. 1623-1643, p. 691. ^ Ibid., vol. 1643-1651, p. 171.

76 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

tliirty were imported by Tabitlia and Matilda Scarborough of the Eastern Shore. ^ In other instances it did not rise' above thirteen.

There are many indications that previous to 1650 the Dutch were either directly or indirectly chiefly instru- mental in introducing the negro into Virginia. In 1655, Colonel Scarborough, one of the most distinguished planters of the Eastern Shore, is stated to have visited Manhattan, where he purchased many slaves, whom he afterwards transported to his own home.^ The Dutch vessels, however, were in the habit of landing Africans in the Colony. The trade was doubtless interrupted by the war which broke out in 1653 between Holland and Eng- land, but as soon as peace was restored it was resumed, although not to the extent which the landowners desired. In 1659, the General Assembly sought to promote the importation of negroes in Dutch bottoms by granting to Dutch masters the valuable privilege of sending out the tobacco, which had been exchanged for slaves introduced, free from the duty of ten shiMings a hogshead which was imposed upon all foreign ships, and subject only to the duty of two shillings required upon the casks exported to England. 3 The action of the Assembly was soon rendered nugatory by the return of the Stuarts, and the rigid en- forcement of the Navigation laws. Previous to this event the English merchants who had taken part in the traffic

1 Va. Land Patents, vol. 1655-1664, p. 35. It is most probable that in nearly all the cases mentioned, the negroes had not been directly im- ported by the persons suing out the patents, but had been purchased from shipowners and shipmasters, who had brought in slaves along with ordinary merchandise.

2 Documents Belating to Colonial History of Neio York, vol. XII, pp. 93, 94.

3 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 540. The same privilege was extended to " other forreiners."

SYSTEM OF LABOR 77

of supplying the American plantations witli slaves, had become thoroughly discouraged by the encroachments of the Dutch, who did not hesitate to seize English vessels seeking to participate in the African trade. To prevent the entire exclusion of these merchants, it was found necessary, in 1662, to grant a charter to the Royal African Company, with the exclusive right of importing negroes into the English possessions, the number to be introduced annually not to fall short of three thousand. The Duke of York, brother of the King, was placed at its head. This corporation was authorized to give a license to any Eng- lish subject to export slaves from Africa to the English Colonies on the payment of three pounds sterling a ton on the tonnage of the vessel used in transporting them. It also received permission to enter into a contract with the Governor of Barbadoes to supply the planters of that island with negroes at the rate of seventeen pounds ster- ling a head. The slaves to be conveyed to the planters of Antigua and Jamaica, under contracts with the Gov- ernors of these Colonies, were to be delivered respectively at eighteen and nineteen pounds sterling apiece. It is worthy of note that the right was not specifically con- ferred upon the Company at this time to enter into an agreement with the Governor of Virginia as to the rates at which Africans were to be sold to the people of that English possession, an omission due perhaps to the fact that the Colony was not yet regarded as an important market for slave labor. ^

It is questionable whether in 1663 the slave population of the Colony was in excess of fifteen hundred persons. Eight years later it had risen only to two thousand. ^ In

1 Dom. Cor. Charles II, vol. xlvii, No. 162, p. 36 ; Sainsbury's Calendar of State Papers, Colonial, 16G1-1668, p. 120.

2 Governor Berkeley's Replies to Interrogatories of English Commis- sioners, Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 515.

78 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

1671, Berkeley testified that in the course of the previous seven years the importation of negroes into Virginia did not go beyond two or three cargoes. ^ This statement is con- firmed by the evidence of the patent books. The found- ers of powerful colonial families appear in this decade for the first time as the patentees of large tracts of land on the basis of African head rights. In 1662, Richard Lee obtained a grant upon the presentation of a list of per- sons that included eighty negroes, the largest number which had previous to this time formed a part of the basis of title. In 1665, Carter of Corotoman sued out a patent that included twenty negroes in its lists of head rights. In a list of sixty-nine belonging to the Scar- boroughs, which was made the basis of a single grant, thirty-nine were represented by slaves. In some instances the number of such head rights preponderated to the ex- tent of fifteen to five, and in others they constituted the whole list, ranging as high as fifteen. ^

In 1672, the Royal African Company received a new charter and became in a few years a powerful agency in the exportation of slaves to America. At first, however, it does not appear to have exercised an increased influence in promoting the transportation of negroes to Virginia. The decade between 1670 and 1680 w^as one of extraordi- nary commotion in the affairs of the Colony, owing to the insurrection under the leadership of Nathaniel Bacon, an event wdiich was preceded and followed by a state of great impoverishment among the people. In 1679, Culpeper,

1 Eeplies to Interrogatories of the English Commissioners, Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 515. In 1664, a Dutch slaver was captured by an English privateer, and, with her living cargo, carried to Virginia. Com- missioners were sent by Stuyvesant to the Colony to reclaim the ship and the negroes. Documents Belating to Colonial History of New York, vol. II, p. 222.

2 See Va. Land Patent Books for these years.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 79

replying to the instructions from England, which directed him to give an annual account of the number of Africans imported into Virginia, declared that some years previ- ously five or six hundred w^ere introduced every year, but the number now brought in had declined to very small proportions.! He was obviously referring to the time which preceded the Rebellion, as in the interval that had passed since its close, the condition of the inhabitants had been such as to prevent their making any purchases. The records of patents, entered between 1670 and 1680, indicate that the increase in the slave population in the course of this period was comparatively insignificant. A striking feature in the character of this interval is the acquisition of the enormous tracts of land upon the basis of head rights represented by white servants almost exclu- sively. Thus in 1671, a patent to ten thousand acres was obtained by Mr. Smith, yet among the two hundred and one persons forming the list that entitled him to the grant, only four were negroes. Of the one huiidred and twenty-two persons who, in 1676, were made the basis by Colonel William Byrd of a patent to seven thousand three hundred and fifty-one acres in Henrico, three alone were Africans, and the proportion was still more insignificant in the list presented by Cadwallader Jones in the same year for the purpose of securing a patent to fourteen thousand one hundred and forty-one acres. In the case of many small grants made during this decade, the pro- portion was reversed, there being four or five negroes to one or two white servants. ^

In 1681, Culpeper declared that as yet no slaves had been brought into Virginia by the Roj^al African Com-

1 Instructions to Culpeper, 1679. His reply to § 51, McDonald Papers, vol. V, p. 3U, Va. State Library.

2 See Va. Land Patent Books for these years.

80 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

pany ; ^ but this statement does not appear to have been wholly accurate. There was undoubtedly an arrangement with that corporation for the introduction of negroes into the Colony in 1678 ; the agent, however, seems to have been a private person, for he was charged with importing a larger number than he was authorized to do. 2 Culpeper was instructed to allow no shi]3 to sail from Virginia to that part of the Guinea coast which lay within the territory of the Royal African Company, with a view to exchanging tobacco for slaves, unless it had received a special license from the Company itself.^ He denied, in his reply to this instruction, that any Vir- ginian vessel had at any time in the history of the Colony carried on a traffic with the people of that coast.* This, however, could not be said of ships from New England which visited Virginia. In 1682, there arrived in the Rappahannock River a Captain Jackson, in command of a vessel belonging to persons who resided in Piscataqua, N.H., among them Mrs. Cutts, a lady of prominence in that community. Having disposed of his merchan- dise, he expressed to Colonel Fitzhugh, his principal pur- chaser, a strong desire to furnish him with a cargo of slaves in the following year. The letter which Fitzhugh wrote in reply to this proposition is of unusual interest, as showing the attitude of the people both of Virginia and of New England towards the race which, nearly two centuries later, were to raise so serious a barrier between

1 Instructions to Culpeper, 1681-82. His reply to § 59, British State Papers, Virginia, vol. 65 ; McDonald Papers, vol. VI, p. 155, Va. State Library.

2 General Court Orders, Robinson Transcripts, pp. 178, 264.

3 Instructions to Culpeper, 1679, § 50, McDonald Papers, vol. V, p. 314, Va. State Library.

* Ibid., 1681-1682. Reply to § 58, British State Papers, Virginia, vol, 45 ; McDonald Papers, vol. VI, p. 153, Va. State Library.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 81

the North and South. I>()th Virginian and New Eng- hmder, in this case, entered into a contract, in Avhich dis- position was to be made of a hxrge number of human beings, in the same spirit as if the objects in which they were trading were so many pipes of wine, casks of rum, or boxes of clothing. In the invoice which was given to Jackson, provision was made for the purchase of a certain number of boys and girls of ages that were not to fall below seven or to rise above twenty-four. These negro 3^outlis were to be landed at the wharf of Colonel Fitz- hugh, and the payment of the sums agreed upon in return for them was to be secured by bonds, which were to be met within a time carefully prescribed.^

There is ground for thinking that the importation of slaves into Virginia through the agency of New England shipowners and merchants increased in importance as the trade with the West Indian Islands enlarged in vol- ume. It will be shown hereafter that a vast quantity of the products of these islands was conveyed to the Col- ony in New England bottoms and there exchanged for tobacco, which in turn was transported to the mother country. Negroes commanded as ready a sale as rum or sugar in Virginia. It is common to find in the county records, references to the vessels in which young negroes, who had been introduced into court to have their ages adjudged, had been brought into the Colony. The names of New England ships are not infrequently men- tioned as the vehicles of tlieir importation. ^

1 Letters of William Fitzhugh, Feb. 11, 1G82-1683. Jackson may have been bound for Barbadoes.

•■2 Records of York County, vol. 1G75-1684, p. 432, Va. State Library. The vessel in this case was the Eunice. The following is from the Iliddlesex Becurds: "Know all men by tliese presents that I John Endicott, Cooper, of Boston in New England, have sold unto Eichard Medlicott, a Spanish Mulatto, by name Antonio, I having full power to

VOL. II. — G

82 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

After 1682, tliere is reason to believe that the Royal African Company became either directly or indirectly the principal agent in increasing the African population of Virginia. In the commission which Culpeper received in the course of this year, it was announced that the English Government had recommended to that corporation to furnish the Colony with slaves at very moderate prices, and in return for this benefit, the authorities there were commanded to enforce the payment of all dues to the Com- pany on the part of planters who had purchased negroes from its representatives. Stress was laid in the commis- sion upon the fact that only in this way could its trade be secured, as it was hardly probable that the Company would continue to carry valuable goods to an unprofitable market. 1 Ships Avere now arriving in the rivers of Vir- ginia directly from the factories on the African coast. Such a vessel was that which came to anchor in the James in 1686, with a large number of negroes consigned to Colonel Byrd, several of whom were smitten with the small-pox, which was thus introduced into his household with fatal consequences in at least one instance. ^ Fitzhugh, writing

sell for his life time, but at ye request of William Taylor, I do sell him but for ten years from ye clay that he shall disembark for Virginia, the ten years to begin, and at ye expiration of ye said ten years, ye said Mulatto to be a free man to go wheresoever he pleases. I do acknowledge to have received full satisfaction of Medlicott." Original vol. 1673-1085, p. 126.

1 Commission to Culpeper, 1682, § 57, McDonald Papers, vol. VI, p. 38, Va. State Library.

2 Letters of William Byrd, Oct. 18, 1686. Most of the ships arriving at this time having slaves on board, doubtless carried mixed cargoes. This is shown by the following extract from a letter of AVilliam Byrd, dated June 21, 1684: "Mr. Paggin (a London merchant) sent about a fortnight since into these parts, 34 negroes with a considerable quantity of diy goods and seven or eight tons of rum and sugar, which I fear will bring our people much into debt and occasion them to be careless with the tobacco they make." Letters of William Bip-d. These negroes, it seems, were placed m the hands of Mr. Kennon and Mr. Pleasants for sale.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 83

to Ralph Wormeley, refers to the fact that several slave- ships were now expected in York River; "I am so re- mote," said he, " that before I can have notice, the negroes will all be disposed of, or at least none left bnt the ref- use. " Wormeley was, therefore, requested to perform the friendly office of purchasing for him five or six of these Africans when they should reach the Colony. ^ About the same time, Mr. Samuel Simpson, a prominent merchant residing at Queen's Creek, received instructions from the local agent of Mrs. Margaret Fellows of Eng- land to buy a certain number of negroes from the master of the Lady Francis or the KatJierme, whichever of the two vessels should be the first to come to anchor in the York. 2 These were slave-ships. The fact that two such vessels were to arrive nearly simultaneously indicates that the volume of importation into this part of the Colony was not inconsiderable. At a later date. Colonel Byrd expresses much regret that the owner of a certain ship, which was expected in the waters of Virginia with a cargo of slaves, was so slow in his voyage. "I sup- pose," Colonel Byrd remarked, " our parts will be supplied long' ere he arrives," a fact that would destroy the market for his human merchandise.^ Bills for the payment of negroes were now given, to be made good upon the arrival of the first slave-vessel.* A habit sprang up at this time among some of the leading colonists of including negroes

1 Letters of WilUam Fitzhugh, June 19, 1G81. As showing the demand for negroes at this time, tlie following from one of Fitzhugh's letters may be quoted. A i-elative, who lived in England, had requested the loan of a considerable sum of money. He replied by saying that "he could hardly, with all his tobacco and anything he could part with, except negroes,''^ supply this person with the sum proposed.

2 Becords of York County, vol. 1675-1684, j). 55, Va. State Library.

3 Letters of William Byrd, May 10, 1686.

* Becords of York County, vol. 1675-1684, p. 569, Va. State Library.

84 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

ill the invoices of supplies forwarded to their correspon- dents in England to be filled. The Royal African Company had its agencies in London, and to them the merchants transferred their orders for slaves.^ It not infrequently happened that a person residing in Virginia directed under his will that property which he owned in the mother country should be sold and the proceeds invested in negroes, a conversion which was doubtless carried out through the same corporation. ^ Many of the slaves in the Colony were imported directly from the West Indies, there being an extensive trade between Virginia and those islands in grain. When Colonel William Byrd and other prominent planters were in need of negroes, they often forwarded orders to their merchants in Barbadoes to return so many along with the cargoes of rum, sugar, and molasses for which invoices were dispatched, the sex, age, and physical points of the slaves to be sent being as care- full}^ specified as the quality and quantity of the articles for consumption.^ Merchants of this island were also personally engaged in transporting negroes to Virginia with a view to their sale to casual purchasers.^

Instructions were given to Lord Howard, in 1687, to punish with the utmost severity all persons who were discovered to be engaged in importing negroes in violation of the exclusive rights of the Royal African Company.^ Acting upon the letter and the spirit of these instructions, Howard issued orders to Captain Perry of the guard-ship then cruising in Virginian waters, to bar the entrance of

1 Letters of William Fitzhugh, July 21, 1692.

2 Will of John Smyth, Becords of York County, vol. 1687-1(391, p. 101, Va. State Library.

3 Letters of William Byrd, Feb. 10, 1685.

* Becords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1646-1651, f. p. 116. 5 Colonial Entry Book, No. 83 ; McDonald Papers, vol. VII, pp. 97- 100, Va. State Library.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 85

every vessel having slaves on board which could not show a license from that corporation. ^ The promptness with which the Governor sought to enforce the commands received from England was probably due in a measure to an event of the same year, which proved' that there were shipmasters who, in the absence of this license, would seek to bring their cargoes of negroes into the Colony by stealth. In October, for want of provisions it was after- wards alleged, one hundred and twenty slaves were landed at a lonely point on the Eastern Shore, from the English ship Society of Bristol, which, we may infer, had come directly from Africa, since a large quantity of elephants' tusks formed a part of its cargo. The vessel on the same day was allowed to drift on the shore and go to wreck. The Collector of the district seized it, its crew and cargo. The negroes and ivory were sold for tobacco, because they had been forfeited under the law by the failure of tlieir owners to pay the port duties. ^

In the last decade of the seventeenth century, the num- ber of African head rights in the Patent Books ^ show a notable increase in the importation of slaves. They become now the most important basis of the acquisition of title to land. In numerous cases, the list of names are restricted to negroes, as many as twenty-seven, sixty-four, seventy-nine, and eighty-four being included at one time. The average number, however, was only nine or ten. It had grown now to be a comparative rarity for a patent to be obtained on the basis of head rights representing white servants alone, the proportion of slaves to white servants even in the smaller grants being as high as one-third or even one-fourth.

1 Instructions for Captain Perry, British State Papers, Colonial Papers; Sainsbury Abstracts for 1688, p. 146, Va. State Library.

^ Palmer's Calendar of Virginia State Papers, vol. I, p. 30.

2 Va. Land Patents in tlie Kegister's office at Riclimond.

86 ECONOMIC HISTORY OP VIRGINIA

Doubtless, in tlie greatest ninnber of instances, the negroes who were brought to Virginia from Africa were renamed as soon as they came into the possession of the planters, but this custom is not likely to have been observed so mu(!h in the case of slaves who had been drawn from the Spanish islands in the West Indies. The patents from decade to decade are strewn with names of Spanish origin, and traces of African names are also to be detected. Mingo, a contraction of Domingo, was as com- mon at that early date as it was at later periods. Hardl}^ less frequent is the occurrence of such names as Pedro, Sancho, Lopez, Carlos, Francisco, Dago, Magdelena, Andrea, Jubina, Cinchenello, Maria, Palassa, and Anto- nio, and also Sonora, Romnio, Toniora, Dondo, Wortello, Nandino, Sonero. In several instances whole lists of names are exclusively African in character. The pur- chaser of imported slaves was evidently frequently at a loss in finding names for his chattels. When they had come from an English Colony in the West Indies, he was in the habit of retaining their English designations, and this accounts in part for the number of Jacks, Kates, Pegs, Toms, Dicks, and Bobs in the lists in the patents. He was, however, in large measure responsible for the Biblical names which are found so frequently, such as Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, Daniel, Isaiah, Emanuel, Ruth, Ste- phen, Hagar, and Jacob. It was also he who drew on the resources of ancient history, as exhibited in the great number of Alexanders, Csesars, Pompeys, Scipios, Hanni- bals, and Neros. Modern history was also ransacked, and sable Cromwells, Robin Hoods, and Rosamunds appeared in Virginia. Mythology offered too rich a fund of names to be allowed to remain unused. Jupiter, Juno, Cyclops, Priapus, Hero, Leander, Pallas, Athena, and Minerva, Mars, Vulcan, and Pan were common. Many of these

SYSTEM OF LABOR 87

were to undergo in time remarkable transformations owing to the looseness and inaccuracy of pronunciation which distinguished the negro. Traces of the originals are still discoverable in names which would have seemed wholly alien to the Greek and Roman ear. Having peopled the Colony with gods, prophets, and generals so far as names could impart these characters, the planters who in the seventeenth century sued out patents on the basis of negro head rights, turned to inanimate objects as designations for their slaves ; thus, there were a number of Baskets and Buckles. Great events in history were also emj)loyed, such as the Reformation. Physical features too were used in the construction of the lists of names ; Barebones and Rawbones were not uncommon. The name of the place from which the slave had come was sometimes added to his Christian name ; among the negroes belonging to John Carter of Lancaster County were Accomac Jack and Barbadoes Dick.^

So numerous had the slaves become towards the close of the seventeenth century that a planter, stocking a new estate with slaves, was not compelled to rely entirely on the merchants engaged in importing negroes. They could be secured in the Colony of his fellow-planters. The proportion of those who were born in Virginia must now have been important, and it was this class that was justly regarded as being most desirable. In the inventory of the property of John Carter of Lancaster, one of the largest slaveholders in the Colony, great care was taken to distinguish the negroes of Virginian birth from those who had been imported, and there was a marked difference

1 Hecords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1690-1709, p. 26. Among the negroes owned by Mrs. Sarah Willoughby of Lower Norfolk County was one who was called Pickaninny. He was between twenty and thirty years of age. Original vol. 1066-1675, p. 170.

88 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

in their respective appraisements in favor of the former. ^ Cok)nel Fitzhugh, in a letter which he wrote to a corre- spondent in London in 1686, mentions incidentally that his plantations were now cultivated by "fine crews" of slaves, the majority of whom were natives of the soil.^ Some of these liad been purchased by him in the Colony. A few years before he had written to William Leigh, who lived in another part of Virginia, to inquire if one hundred pounds sterling, which had been placed in his hands for invest- ment in negroes, could be expended to advantage in this form in the county where Leigh resided. He also con- veyed the same request to John Buclmer.^ A memorandum which Fitzhugh gave to his agent, who was about to set out for York, throws still more instructive light on these local purchases of slaves. This agent was directed not to buy more than two women under thirty years of age. The highest price to be paid for a man was twenty pounds sterling, unless he was a negro of extraordinary physical strength. Fifty -four pounds were prescribed as the limit of price for three boys whom a Mr. \V'alker had expressed a willingness to dispose of, and for two youths whom Major Peyton was prepared to sell, thirty-four were to be offered as the highest figure. The agent was ordered by Colonel Fitzhugh to confine himself strictly to these sums, unless he should find upon inquiry that the ruling prices

1 Becords of Lancastrr Cortnty, original vol. 1690-1709, p. 33.

2 Letters of William Fitzhugh, April 22, 1686. The number of slaves now held by the wealthiest planters was often very large. Thus Ralph Wormeley was the owner of ninety-one (see JRecords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1694-1703, p. 115) ; Robert Beverley, of forty-two (see inventory on file in Middltsex) ; Mrs. Elizabeth Digges, of one hun- dred and eight ( William and Mary College Quarterly, April, 1893, p. 177) ; Nathaniel Bacon, Sr., of forty (Becords of York; 1694-1697, p. 261, Va. State Library) ; and John Carter, of one hundred and six {Hecords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1690-1709).

3 Letters of William Fitzhugh, June 27, 1682.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 89

for slaves were so much greater that he woukl liave to return to Rappahannock with his mission unfulfilled if he persisted in his demands. For the negroes to be pur- chased, payment was to be made in part in certain bills of exchange drawn in favor of Fitzhugh by local debtors, these bills being turned over to the agent when he started upon his journey. 1

It is a fact of interest that the value of negroes ad- vanced rather than declined as their number in the Colony increased. In 1640, when the black population of Virginia probably did not exceed one hundred and fifty persons, a male African adult commanded about twenty-seven hundred pounds of tobacco, and a female about twenty- five hundred ; this amounted to an average price of about eighteen pounds sterling a head, rating that commod- ity at a penny and a half a pound. Three years later, two negro women and one negro child were assigned in York by Henry Brooke to Nicholas Brooke, a merchant of London, in return for fifty-five hundred pounds of tobacco.- The executors of William Pryor in 1647 sold to Captain Chisman of York County four negro men, two negro women, and tAvo negro children for one hundred and fifty pounds sterling, an average value of eighteen pounds.^ In 1659, a young negro woman in the same county was held at thirty.* Ten years after this, it was declared, in a report drawn up by the Committee for Foreign Plantations, that the average price which the newly imported African slaves commanded in Virginia was twenty pounds sterling a head.^ In 1671, an old

1 Letters of William Fitzhugh, June 5, 1682.

2 Eecords of York County, vol. 1638-1018, p. G3, Va. State Library. 3/6id.,p. 338.

* Ihid., vol. 1657-1662, p. 195.

^ Colonial Entry Book, No. 92, pp. 275, 283 ; Sainsbury's Calendar of State Papers, Colonial, 1061-1668, p. 22'J.

90 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

negro woman was appraised in York County at twenty- four pounds, a young negro woman at thirty-two, a child of the same race, whose age did not exceed one year and a quarter, at four.^ A few years later, in a purchase of slaves which was made by Mr. Bryan Smith of York County, he gave thirty pounds sterling apiece for five men, twenty-five apiece for two women, thirty apiece for two other women, and fifty-three shillings for a child. In 1682, a young negro man in York was appraised at twenty-six pounds sterling, and a young negro woman and child at twenty-seven. ^ In 1695, two negro men who formed part of the estate of Captain John Goodman of the same county were held at sixty pounds sterling together.^

The valuations placed upon the slaves of Nathaniel Bacon, Sr., whose inventory was brought into court in 1694, represented doubtless the average appraisement of a large estate in negroes at this time in York. Nine were entered at twenty-eight pounds sterling, ten at twenty- five, three at twenty, one at eighteen, three at sixteen, one at fifteen, one at thirteen, one at twelve, and two at eight.* The value of a male child, twelve years old, was placed at twenty pounds sterling ; of a girl of ten, at fifteen ; one of nine, at twelve ; while a girl four years of age was ajDpraised at eight pounds sterling,^ and another of six years, at ten.^

In a letter written by Thomas Howell in Surry County, about 1671, he informs his correspondent that he had just bought a negro there for twenty-six pounds sterling and twelve shillings ; " I suppose," he adds, " the most that ever has been given in these parts."''

1 Records of York Coiintij, vol. 1G64-1672, p. 318, Va. State Library.

2 Ibid., vol. 1675-1684, p. 486.

3 Ibid., vol. 1694-1702, p. 410, ^ j;,jVZ., vol. 1687-1691, p. 378. * Ibid., vol. 1694-1697, p. 263. « jj^v^., vol. 1690-1694, p. 178.

■^ liecords of Surry County, vol. 1671-1684, p. 41, Va. State Library.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 91

In 1680, Colonel Fitzliugh, who resided in the Northern Neck, in a letter addressed to Captain William Partis, states that he had entered into a bargain with Mr. Vincent Goddard to pay twenty-nine pounds sterling for two slaves ; it is to be presumed that this sum represented what he gave, not for both, but for each one, unless they were mere youths.^ In the proposal which he made to Captain Jackson in February, 1682, with reference to the cargo of negroes who were to be consigned to him in the follomng autumn, he states in detail the prices he was willing to pay for them. Three thousand pounds of tobacco were to be the valuation of every boy and girl whose ages ranged from seven to eleven ; while for those whose ages ranged from eleven to fifteen, it was to be four thousand, and for those whose ages ranged from fifteen to twenty-five, five. The price of tobacco at this time Avas from one penny and a half to two pennies a pound. 2

When the master of the Society, the Bristol ship which went ashore in Accomac, came to reward the persons who had assisted him in landing the negroes he had on board, he paid James Lamont thirty pounds sterling in the form of a boy and girl.^ This is found to be the figure at which two African children were appraised in Henrico County in 1697, the value of a negro man on the same occasion being placed at twenty-five pounds.* In Eliza- beth City, the prices of slaves in the same decade appear to have been substantially the same as in Henrico. In the inventory of the estate of William Marshall, two negro men were entered at fifty pounds sterlmg, and

1 Letters of William Fitzhugh, Dec. 4, 1680.

2/6id., Feb. 11, 1682-83.

3 Palmer's Calendar of Virginia State Papers, vol. I, p. 30.

* Becords of Henrico County, original vol, 1697-1704, p. 134.

92 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

two negro women at forty-five. A boy, five years of age, was listed at ten pounds, two girls, two and three years of age respectively, at twelve, and an infant seven months of age, at two pounds and ten shillings. In the same year an infant, six months of age, was held at three pounds sterling, and a child, eight years of age, at ten j)ounds.i

In Middlesex County, the prices of slaves seem to have maintained a slightly higher average than in the counties already named. In the estate of Major Robert Beverley, the elder, the inventory being filed in 1687, the value of the men ranged from twenty-six to twenty-eight pounds sterling. 2 Ten years later, the 3'Oung slaves belonging to the estate of Richard Willis were listed at thirty-one pounds apiece, although in some instances so youthful as to be described as lads. The young women were valued at the same rates. ^ The appraisement of the negroes belonging to Christopher Robinson was still higher. Of the ten who were included in the inventory of his estate, four men were entered at forty pounds apiece, one girl at thirty, and another at twenty-five ; one w^oman at thirty- five pounds, and a woman and child at forty.* The valu- ation of the negroes included in the estate of Ralph Wormeley, the inventory being filed in 1700, was not quite so high. The men and boys were appraised at thirty-five pounds sterling, and the girls at thirty. The prices in Lower Norfolk show no difference from those enumerated in the case of York County. In Rappahan- nock, in 1695, a negro boy was entered at twenty-six pounds sterling, and a girl at twenty -four. The valuation of adults was perhaps considerably higher.^

1 Becords of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1684-1699, pp. 276, 300.

2 See inventory on file among Records of Middlesex County. ^ Records of Middlesex County, original vol. 1698-1713, p. 57. * Ibid., 1694-1705, p. 188.

^ Becords of Bappahannock County, vol. 1695-1699, p. 5. The prices

SYSTEM OF LABOR 93

Previous to 1609, the prices at which negroes were hekl was not increased by a duty on those who were im- ported. A law, however, was passed in that year, impos- ing a tax of twenty shillings a head upon each slave introduced into the Colony, to be paid by the master of the ship in which he had been conveyed ; and if there was an effort to evade this charge, by landing the negroes w^ithout the warrant which had been prescribed in this case, they were to be forfeited and sold for the public benefit. It was stated that the object of this provision was to swell the fund that was required to meet the expense of the erection of a new capitol, the old one having been recently destroyed by fire. There could have been no intention to discourage the introduction of slaves alone, as a duty was also laid upon the white servants brought into Virginia at this time. No tax of this character would have been imposed if the demand for labor in the Colony upon the threshold of the eigh- teenth century had been as pressing as it had been during so large a part of the seventeenth. ^

It has already been mentioned that the negro in the seventeenth century was thought to occupy a position in the human family very little removed from that of the ordinary brute. It is interesting to observe the various obstructions, legal as well as moral, which arose when the question of Christianizing him came to be settled. The attitude of many of the planters in the English Colonies in that age towards the moral elevation of the slave through the agency of the church was expressed in the reply of a lady of Barbadoes to Godwyn, the author of the Negro's and Indian s Advocate — a work of unusual

of negroes in the two counties on the Eastern Shore did not differ sub- stantially from the prices prevailing elsewhere in the Colony. 1 Hening's Statutes, vol. Ill, p. 193.

94 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

ability and great humanity, — tliat lie might as well bap- tize puppies as negroes, an utterance rendered the more significant by the fact that in her own life she was remarkable for her exemplary piety and the care she exhibited in the religious education of her own children. Another woman, who enjoyed a good reputation for char- acter and sense, upon Godwyn's administering baptism to one of her slaves, remarked that it would have been equally as efficacious if he had sought by the same cere- mony to make a Christian of her black bitch. ^ That this feeling did not spring from mere prejudice or self-interest, is revealed in the fact that there was comparatively little opposition on the part of the planters of Barbadoes to the baptism of mulattoes, who as the descendants of white per- sons on one side were regarded as having been brought within the pale of humanity. In this island, negroes were instructed to avoid the rooms in which religious exercises were holding by the families of their masters, on the ground that they could not be expected to partici- pate in the hopes and promises which the Christian relig- ion extended. An explanation of the course followed by the West Indians in this respect may in many cases be discovered in the belief, that as long as the slave re- mained unbaptized he was not responsible for his acts in the sight of God, and as he was incapable of leading a pure life, the administration of the sacrament of baptism to him would expose him to certain damnation, A num- ber of masters were influenced by an apprehension that if the negroes were improved in their mental condition by instruction, they might rise up against their owners and deluge the island in blood. Others were moved by the consideration, that if the slave were baptized it would

1 Godwyn's iVer/j-o's and Indiaii's Advocate, p. 38. I am indebted to Godwyn for all the details that follow. See pp. 43 et seq.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 95

be necessary to show more scruple in governing him, the conscience of each planter as well as the force of public opinion requiring him to furnish his slave with more palatable food and more comfortable lodgings, and to inflict punishments with less severity under the circum- stances. It Avas even supposed by some that the act of baptizing the negro destroyed the right of his owner to his service, and that he was thereafter entitled to all the privileges of an English citizen.

Godwyn declares that the same general views as to the impropriety of Christianizing slaves prevailed in Virginia, and that their conversion was thought to be so idle and unmeaning, that the reputation for good sense of the man who suggested it was seriously impaired. This statement was made by Godwyn in 1681, and seems to have exagger- ated the state of feeling in the Colony witli reference to the moral elevation of the negroes held there in bondage. It is a fact worthy of note that one of the two African chil- dren included in the muster of 1621-2.5, William, the son of Anthony and Isabel, two negroes who belonged to Captain Tucker, was entered in the general list as having received baptism. i This privilege was conferred over half a century before Godwyn published his treatise. A still more interesting case occurred in 1611. John Gra- were, who is represented as an African servant of William Evans, was the father of a child by a slave who belonged to Robert Sheppard. He expressed great anxiety that this child should be baptized, and afterwards brought up in the knowledge of religion as taught in the church of England. Being permitted by his master to keep a num- ber of li^gs, Grawere was able to accumulate from his an- nual sales a small fund with which he purchased the freedom of his offspring. The court declared that the disposition 1 Hotten's Original List of Emigrants^ 1600-1700, p. 244.

96 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

and instruction of the child shoukl be left to his father and godfather, who pledged tliemselves that he should be ■educated in the Christian belief. ^

The Council for Foreign Plantations were so much interested in the religious condition of the slaves residing in Barbadoes and Virginia, that in 1661 they directed that a letter should be written to the authorities in those Colo- nies, commanding them to encourage the introduction of ministers of the Gospel who would devote themselves to the reclamation of the newly imported negroes with a view to preparing them for baptism. ^ The notion that the act of baptizing a slave operated to release him from bondage was certainly prevalent in Virginia at one time, but the indisposition which it created in planters to extend the comforts of religion to their negroes was entirely removed by the passage of the law in 1667, that the administration of the sacrament of baptism to them effected no change in their legal condition.^ It was expressly stated in this statute that its object was to encourage masters to promote the propagation of Christianity by permitting their slaves to come within the pale of the Christian Church. This law would perhaps have been adopted at an earlier date if the negroes had previously constituted a very important element in the general population. As late, however, as 1648, there were only three hundred persons of African blood in the Colony, and in 1667, the number could not have exceeded eighteen hundred, and very probably fell

1 General Court Orders, March 31, 1G41, Bohinson Transcripts, p. 30. An additional instance, which occurred in 1G55, is preserved in the Becords of York County, vol. 1657-1662, p. 45, Va. State Library. Ann Barnhouse gave Mihill Gowen a male negro child, born of the body "of my negro Rosa, being baptized by Edward Johnson, Sept*. 2, 1655." William, the name of the child, was the son of Mihill.

2 British State Paper's, Colonial, vol. XIV, No. 59.

3 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 260.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 97

very much below that number.^ In the instructions which Culpeper received in 1682 from the English Gov- ernment, he Avas enjoined to inquire as to what would be the best means of facilitating the conversion of the slaves to the Christian religion, only it was added that caution was to be shown in taking any steps that tended to throw in jeopardy individual property in the negro, or to render less stable the safety of the Colony. ^

Under the terms of the statute passed in 1670, all ser- vants who were imported into Virginia who liad not l)een brought up in the Christian religion, and who, therefore, were still unbaptized, were held to be servants for life. It is significant that the word "negro " was not used, although the law was really designed to cover the case of the African slaves, who were now introduced into the Colony in increasing numbers. After an interval of twelve years, in which comparatively few negroes were brought in, in consequence of the poverty of the planters following upon the agitation that led up to and succeeded Bacon's Rebel- lion, this statute was repealed on the ground that it seri- ously obstructed further additions from without to the slave population, because many of the negroes who arrived in Virginia had come from lands where Christianity pre- vailed, and where they had received the rite of baptism. ^ The owners of such negroes, when they reached the Colony, either had to undergo the complete loss of their property or had to incur the heavy expense of returning them to the country from which they had been exported, or of sending them to some place where converted slaves were

1 In 1671 the slave population was estimated by Berkeley at two thou- sand. Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 515.

2 Commission to Culpeper, 1682, § 65, McDonald State Papers, vol. VI, p. 43, Va. State Library.

3 Hening's Statutes, vol. 11, pp. 283, 491.

VOL. II. II

98 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

bought without auy modification of the right to liold them for life. From this time, no discrimination was made in Virginia as to whetlier imported Africans had been bap- tized or not. If it happened that a negro who had been in the enjoyment of his freedom in a Christian country was brought into the Colony and sold for life, the person who was guilty of the act was compelled to forfeit double the amount which he had received in disposing of him. The adoption of this provision as a part of the fundamental law indicated that within the lines in which the institu- tion of slavery operated, the General Assembly was deter- mined that no injustice should be done to the negroes who could justly claim their freedom. This regulation was established by the revised code of 1705, but it rejElected pub- lic sentiment in the latter part of the seventeenth century. ^

The first dispute as to ownership in an individual negro seems to have arisen in 1625, when an African who had been captured by an English ship from the Spaniards was brought into the Chesapeake. The captain of the vessel died and the question arose as to the ownership of the negro. Did he belong to the heirs of the captain, to the sailors who manned the ship, or to the colonial authorities ? The General Court, passing upon the merits of the case, decided that he should become the property of the Governor without regard to any expressed wish by the captain before his death, or any challenge on the part of the ship's company. The reason for this decision was quite probably that the negro had been seized while the vessel was navigating in a public capacity, and being a prize of war, he belonged to the State and not to the individual. ^

In the seventeenth century, the slave was classed as personal property and stood upon the same footing as

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. Ill, p. 448.

2 Neill's Virginia Carolorum, pp. 33, 34.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 99

household goods, horses, cows, oxen, and hogs.^ It was not infrequent for Virginian testators to leave instructions in their wills that certain negroes should be sold for the payment of their debts, directions that had their motive probably in the greater readiness with which this form of personal property could be disposed of with little dan- ger of sacrifice. 2 Under the provisions of the revised code of 1705, which is of importance in our inquiry from the light it throws on public feeling in the seventeenth cen- tury, the slave was declared to be real estate unless he was still held by a merchant who was seeking to sell him, in which case he was decided to be personalty. His legal status was highly anomalous under this modification of the original law, Avhich had provided that he should be held to be personalty under all circumstances. Although a form of real estate by the code of 1705, he was never- theless liable to be sold for the payment of debts, but no record was required to be made of such a sale, a step that was essential in the case of land. If unlawfully carried off, he was recoverable by an action of trover as if he con- stituted one branch of personal property. He could not be made, like ordinary real estate, the basis of a claim to all the privileges of a freeholder. ^

The rule was in operation in Virginia from an early date, that the child should follow the condition of the mother, which was the adoption of the English provision, partus sequitur ventrem.'^ The necessity of deciding as to

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 288 ; Records of Henrico County, vol. 1G88-1G97, p. 457, Va. State Library.

2 Records of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 166G-1675, pp. 68, 106.

3 Hening's Statutes, vol. Ill, pp. 333, 334.

* Beverley's History of Virginia, p. 219. See, also, Green's Short History of the English People, illustrated, vol. I, p. 28. See, however, tlie discussion of the relation of Status to Nativity in Vinogradoff' s Vil- lainage in England.

100 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

the applicability to the Colony of this provision arose as soon as the first mulatto sprung from a white father was born. Was the condition of the father or the mother to be the condition of the child ? Interest as well as the transmitted law of the English people bearing upon the precise point dictated that the child should be a slave, and during the whole existence of the institution of bondage in Virginia, there was no relaxation in the enforcement of this regulation. It was considered to be unjust to place young negroes on the footing of tithables until they had acquired strength to labor in the fields. ^ In 1658, all imported slaves above sixteen were listed for taxation.^ Twelve years was decided to be the proper age in 1680,^ but at a later period sixteen was again adopted, and the list of the youthful tithables was made up when the sea- son for working tobacco arrived. All African children brought into the Colony were required to be introduced before the court in three months after they had reached Virginia, in order to have their ages properly adjudged.* To ensure absolute accuracy in the returns of young slaves, there was at one time a provision that the birth of every black or mulatto child who first saw the light in the Colony should be entered in the registry of the parish where he or she was born.^ The negroes remaining in the hands of merchants and factors were exempted from the operation of the levy because they were not in the list of tithables.^

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. IT, p. 479.

2 Ibid., vol. I, p. 454.

3 Ibid., vol. II, p. 480. * Ibid., p. 480.

5 Purvis, 1672, p. 179; Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 296.

•^ On the petition of John Pleasants and the motion of Richard Ken- non, consignees of William Paggin and Company, " desiring the resolu- tion of this Right Worshipful Court concerning some negroes of the said Company consigned them to sell, but at ye time of listing tithables,

SYSTEM OF LABOR 101

The penalty for omitting a slave tithaLle Avas the loss of the slave. ^

It is a striking fact that all negresses born in Virginia, when above sixteen years of age, were rated as tithable whether their labors were confined to the house or to the fields, differing very widely in this respect from the white female servants, who were not listed if the work they were called upon to perform was exclusively domestic. ^ There was an indisposition, as we have already seen, on the part of the planters to employ white women in agriculture, however great might be the demand for their assistance in the cultivation of tobacco at certain seasons, and it was only those individuals of the sex who were tarnished in reputation or slatternly in habits who were found engaged in this way. This discrimination between female servants and female slaves has been attributed to various causes. By some, it is thought to have been due to a desire in the colonial authorities to discourage the importation of negroes.^ This reason seems to be untenable. It would appear to be more probable that the exemption of the white female domestic servants from taxation was at least partly designed to promote the introduction of white women without any reference to female slaves. The number of the former who were brought into Virginia under articles of indenture was necessarily smaller than the number of white men imported who were bound by

remaining in their possession undisposed of : It is the opinion of the Court that the said Kennon and Pleasants ought not to pay levy for them this year, because the said negroes being goods belonging to merchants in England, ought not in any reasonable time to put them to more charge by taxes than other of their commodities imported hither." Becords of Henrico County, vol. 1682-1701, p. 81, Va. State Library.

1 Hartwell, Chilton, and Blair's Present State of Virginia, 1097, p. 53.

2 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 296.

3 This was the view of Mr. Bancroft, the historian.

102 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

similar covenants. The Assembly were perhaps anxious to lessen the disproportion, and the law referred to was well calculated to produce the condition desired ; such a law might easily have been considered advisable even if the institution of slavery had not obtained a foothold in the Colony. That no discrimination against the African was intended is disclosed in the fact that all Indian female slaves, whether employed indoors or in the fields, were also deemed to be tithables. Doubtless also the negroes, with- out regard to sex, more especially those who had not been born in Virginia, were in the beginning thought to be unfit for domestic service, being awkward in person and un- trained in manners. White women who had been brought from England were numerous, and they were obviously better fitted for household work than the raw female slaves, and but poorly adapted to the heavy tasks of the fields, in which a greater strength and a higher power of endurance gave the negress a marked superiority. In the latter part of the century, however, African domestics became extremely common, there being an increasing number of slaves who had been born in Virginia, from among whom each master could select those who seemed most capable of being trained for household duties. The amiability and docility which they displayed in the fields made them agreeable and attractive also as household ser- vants, and in this character they grew more popular with the progress of each decade. Colonel William Byrd men- tions incidentally in his correspondence in 1684, that his wife had often urged him to send their youthful daughter to England, as it was impossible for her to learn anything in a great family of negroes.^ The households of many other planters of wealth must have been largely consti- tuted of slaves. The wills of this period show that young 1 Letters of William Byrd, March 31, 1684.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 103

African women were frequently bequeathed to daughters to serve as their maids. ^ It may be inferred from these facts that if the comparative rarity of female domestic slaves in the beginning was one of the causes leading to the inclusion of all negresses in the list of tithables, that cause ceased to operate by the time the last decade of the century had been reached, but the reasons prompting a desire to promote an increase in the number of the white female servants would still remain in force. It is not improbable, however, that the exemption of white women emjDloyed in household service from taxation, was due in the greatest measure to a wish on the part of the Assem- bly to encourage the withdrawal of all members of that sex and race from the field. By removing the tax from them when thus occupied and at the same time allowing it to remain on the negresses, engaged in the performance of household duties, it was made plainly to the interest of the planter to confine his choice of female domestic ser- vants to individuals of his own color, and this was a con- sideration which only citizens of fortune could afford to overlook.

The testimony is contradictory as to whether the owner

1 See Will of Thomas Cocke, Records of Henrico County, original vol. 1688-1697, p. 687. Cocke bequeathed to his daughter, Agnes Har- wood, a mulatto girl, who was to be employed as Mrs. Harwood thought fit, except that she was not to be ordered to "beat at the mortar or to work in the ground." "My will is that she may be an ease to my daughter's own person, and that the girl may be well and kindly used, and I also give with her, the weaver's loom and all the stages and harness to the same, with all other appurtenances thereto, all of which is to be enjoyed by my daughter, to be used by the girl, Sue. At my daughter's death, the girl and loom to pass to her son Thomas." Cocke thus con- cludes : " My will is that ye girl be well used in all her time of service, whoever shall happen to be her master or mistress, for if she shall bee by any of them notoriously abused, my will is that shee shall have liberty to choose which of my sons she pleases fur her master to live wilh."

104 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

of a negress was relieved from the payment of the levies in case she became so disabled, either temporarily or per- manently, as to be incapable of work. In an instance of this kind, the court of Henrico, in 1697, decided that the law exempting poor and impotent persons from taxation did not apply to such a woman, however grievous the disease from which she was suffering. ^ On the other hand, the court of Lancaster declared that the master of a slave in this condition could not be required to pay the county and public levies on her account.^

The principal tax fell upon slaves and servants because the land was thought to be sufficiently burdened already in the payment of quit-rents. Tobacco, on the other hand, was subject to the export duty of two shillings a hogshead, and it was supposed could bear no further im- position. Personal property in the form of horses, hogs, and cattle was looked upon as being of a value too small and uncertain to be made a subject for taxation. ^

The life which the slaves followed as agricultural laborers could not have differed essentially from that of the white servants engaged in the performance of the same duties; the tasks expected of both were the same, and in the fields, at least, no discrimination seems to have been made in favor of the latter. During the greater part of the seventeenth century, the negro was regarded as a mere servant for life, and as a laborer dif- fered in that particular alone from the white person Avho was bound for a period of years. The opportunities open to the indented white man were innumerable, but they

1 Records of Henrico Co^inty, vol. 1677-1G99, orders June 1, 1607, Ya. State Library.

2 Becords of Lancaster Connty, original vol. 1G80-1C80, orders July 8, 1685.

3 Hartwell, Chilton, and Blair's Present State of Virginia, 1697, p. 55.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 105

bore chiefly upon the time when his service would end. He could always entertain a reasonable hope of final im- provement in his condition, but, while his term lasted, he stood practically upon the same footing as the meanest slave, in the duties to be performed by him. On the whole, the work of the latter could not have been very burdensome. We have the testimony of those who had observed the operations of both the Virginian and the foreign systems, that the negroes in the Colony were not required to labor for as many hours as the common hus- bandmen abroad, nor were they pressed as hard in their tasks. 1 Side by side in the field, the white servant and the slave were engaged in planting, weeding, suckering, or cutting tobacco, or sat side by side in the barn manipulating the leaf in the course of preparing it for market, or plied their axes to the same trees in clearing away the forests to extend the new grounds. ^ The same holidays were allowed to both, and doubtless, too, the same privilege of cultivating small patches of ground for their own private benefit. In the matter of food, however, the negro did not enjoy the same advantage as the white servant, the substance of his fare being plainer and less costly ; ^ his meals consisted of hominy, mush, maize-bread, pork, potatoes, and other vegetables,^ — vict- uals which were, perhaps, more palatable than those in

1 Beverley's History of Virginia, p. 220. " I can assure you, with great truth, that generally their slaves are not worked near so hard nor so many hours in a day as the hushandmen and day laborers in Eng- land." Again, "The work of their servants and slaves is no other than what every common freeman does," p. 220.

2 For an illustration of the intimate association of white servants and negro slaves in their work, see Becords of York County, vol, 1684-1687, p. 206, Va. State Library.

3 Beverley's History of Virginia, p. 219.

* Hugh Jones' Present State of Virginia, p. 40.

106 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

reach of the English day hiborer in the same age. The slaves of the seventeenth century had probably more ground for satisfaction in this respect than the slaves of the nineteenth, whose staple food was maize-bread and bacon. The negro of the seventeenth century also re- quired less expensive clothing than the white servant. In the advertisement of a slave who had run away from his master, which was placed on record in York County in 1686, he is described as having been dressed in " red cotton," and as wearing " a waistcoat, canvas drawers, and a broad brim black hat." ^ In another case, the clothing of an African slave consisted of a full suit, a doublet, a pair of drawers, a pair of shoes and a cap.^

The county records of the seventeenth century show that the negro quarter had become a recognized part of the plantation buildings in the eighth and ninth decades.^ The contents of the houses were of the simplest character, as may be discovered by an examination of contempora- neous inventories. An instance may be given by way of illustration. In the Stratton inventory brought before the Henrico court in 1697, the furniture and utensils in the cabin of one of the slaves are enumerated, and they consisted of several chairs and a bed, an iron kettle weigh- ing fifteen pounds, a brass kettle, an iron pot, a pair of pot-racks, a pothook, a frying-pan and a beer-barrel.*

1 Records of York Cottnty, vol. 1684-1687, p. 215, Va. State Library.

2 Ibid., p. 19.

3 In an old Survey preserved among the Ludwell Papers, a part of the Manuscript Collections of the Virginia Historical Society, it is stated that one of the lines " stopped at a poplar tree by the negroes' quarter." This estate belonged to Secretary Ludwell, 1678. The plantations of all the principal landowners were divided into Quarters. See, for examples, the wills and inventories of Kalph Wormeley and Robert Beverley on record or file in the clerk's office of Middlesex County.

* Records of Henrico County, original vol. 1697-1704, p. 138. See, also, Records of York County, vol. 1664-1672, p. 190, Va. State Library.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 107

Not only was the slave a source of smaller expense than the white servant in point of food and clothing, and per- haps in lodgings, but it is highly probable in the matter of medical attendance also. The planters incurred very considerable loss from the seasoning through which the white laborers, with few exceptions, passed on their first arrival in Virginia. Valuable time thus slipped away before any return was derived from their labor. The white servants not infrequently died as the result of this attack of illness, and the money or tobacco expended in their purchase was thrown away. The slaves do not appear to have been subject to this form of sickness, and were much less affected by exposure to the oppressive heat of the sun in the months of July, August, and September. It is an interesting fact that of the twenty negroes who were imported in 1619, the first who had arrived in the Colony, not one had died previous to 1621, an indication of the ease with which they stood the deleterious influences of the climate. There was at this time no parallel instance in the history of the white servants.

There is no reason to doubt that the planters were as a body just and humane in their treatment of their slaves. The solicitude exhibited by John Page of York was not uncommon: in his will, he instructed his heirs to provide for the old age of all the negroes who descended to them from him, with as much care in point of food, clothing, and other necessaries, as if they were still capable of the most profitable labor. ^ Occasionally, the records of the

1 Becords of York County, vol. 1600-1 094, p. 138, Va. State Library. Slaves, it would seem, were not permitted to hold property, as the follow- ing regulation shows : " Horses, cattle, and hogs marked with the mark of a slave, to be converted by the owner of the slave to the uses and marks of the owner; otherwise forfeited to the Parish." Hening's Statutes, vol. Ill, p. 103.

108 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

county courts reveal instances of great cruelty on the part of unfeeling masters, as when Samuel Gray, a minister of the Gospel, bound his runaway slave, who was still a mere boy, to a tree and compelled another slave to beat him until he died.^ There were also cases in which children were torn from their mothers at an age when such separa- tion would be a cause of poignant grief to the parent. ^ Suicide among adults was not unknown. In 1690, Bess, a negro woman belonging to Colonel William Byrd, threw herself into Falling Creek and was drowned. There is no light as to her motive.^

The increase in the number of negroes in the Colony towards the close of the century, the population of two thousand in 1671 having probably risen to six thousand by 1700, enlarged the opportunities of employment for persons who wished to follow the occupation of an over- seer. Many of the slaves who had been imported had been imported directly from Africa, and were savages of a very gross type unaccustomed to any form of restraint. It was observed that those among them who had been im- portant men in their tribes were insolent, haughty, and obstinate, and while this class was necessarily small, their characteristics must have been shared in a measure by such of their fellows as had never before been compelled to labor steadily and continuously. The supervision of

1 Becords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1694-1705, p. 238.

2 Becords of Bappahannock County, vol. 1677-1682, p. 20, Va. State Library. In this case, Elizabeth Craik bequeathed to one daughter, Frances by name, a negress and the third child to be born of her ; to a second daughter, Elizabeth Moss, the first and second child to be born of the same woman. "I vpill that the two children the said negro woman shall happen to bear to the use of Elizabeth (Moss), be and remain with the mother until they shall be one year old, and that then they may be taken away."

3 Becords of Henrico County, vol. 1688-1697, p. 170, Va. State Library.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 109

an overseer was required, to make tliem perform the various tasks to which they were set. Even if superin- tendence had been unnecessary in the case of the white servants, which, as has been seen, it was not, it would have been called for as soon as slaves, whether crude bar- barians or men already trained for their work, began to be introduced in any number.

TJiere are indications at an early date of improper sex- ual relations between white men and slave women, a con- dition to be expected from the intimate association of members of the two races in the performance of their daily tasks. This immoral intercourse was not, however, confined on the part of the whites to the indented male servants. One of the charges brought against Lawrence, the principal adviser of Bacon in the insurrection of 1676, was that he worshipped the goddess Venus in the person of his female slave, but that his course of conduct was as much disapproved of in that age by the general sentiment of the community as it was in later times, is shown by the great scandal it created at Jamestown.^ As early as 1630, one Hugh Davis, who was discovered in the same relation with a negress, was roundly lashed in public, and compelled to acknowledge his fault before the congrega- tion with which he worshipped. ^ Nine years later, Rob- ert Sweet, who is described in a patent to him in 1628 as " gentleman," ^ having been detected in the same offence,

1 The following is from the Archives of Maryland, Coxirt and Testa- mentary Business, vol. 1649-1657, p. 114 : " The complainant prosecuting against the defendant upon an action of defamation, for that the defend- ant reported here that he had heard one Thomas Gutridge in Virginia say that the plaintiff had got one of his negroes with child, and that he had a black bastard in Virginia, which report the complainant saith tends much to his disgrace and defamation, which he values at 20,000 lbs."

•^ Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 146.

3 Va. Land Patents, vol. 1623-1643, p. 70.

110 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

was ordered to appear in the church of the parish in which he resided, in a white sheet, according to the English eccle- siastical laws, while the woman who was the other party to the act of self-indulgence received a sound whipping. i A case is recorded in Lower Norfolk County in which a white man and his black paramour were required to stand up together in the same situation dressed in white sheets and holding white rods in their hands. ^ The public sen- timent of the Colony was not content with leaving the punishment to the operation of church laws ; a general statute was passed imposing a heavy fine upon all white men who were guilty of criminal intimacy with female slaves, and this was the regulation at the time when the number of negroes in Virginia did not exceed several hun- dred.3 Nevertheless, the permanent relations between white men and negresses were maintained to a more or less open extent. A somewhat remarkable case came to light in 1697. In that year a mulattress entered a petition in the Lancaster court praying that she should be set free. She claimed that she had been purchased by John Beach- ing from Mrs. Elizabeth Spencer in consideration of his tanning one thousand hides. He had caused her and her child to be baptized, and if the assertion of the petition was to be relied on, had promised to marry her, an evidence that he was the father of her offspring and that he had lived with her without disguise. The jury to whom the question of her freedom was submitted, decided in her favor as against Mrs. Spencer, who was a member of one of the most powerful families in the Colony.*

The punishment inflicted upon a white woman for

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 552.

2 Becords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1G46-1651, f. p. 113.

3 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 170.

* Becords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1G9G-1702, p. 43.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 111

giving birtli to a bastard whose father was a negro or a muhitto was stern and emphatic. ^ As has been previously stated, if she were free she was required to pay fifteen pounds sterling, and if unable to do this, she was delivered into the hands of the church wardens of the parish and sold for a period of five years. ^ If, however, she was not in the enjoyment of her freedom, but was a servant whose term had not expired, as soon as it came to an end she was disjDosed of by the wardens for the same length of time. Her child was appropriated by the parish until he or she was thirty years of age. In addition, the white mothers of negro bastards were frequently taken to the county seat and there publicly whipped by the sheriff. In some cases, the court directed that if such a woman after securing her freedom remained in the county, she was to be banished to the West Indies. ^

It is no ground for surprise that in the seventeenth century there were instances of criminal intimacy between white women and negroes. Many of the former had only recently arrived from England, and Avere, therefore, com- paratively free from the race prejudice that was so likely

1 See an indictment of such a woman preserved in the Becords of York County, vol. 1690-1694, p. 420. See also Becords of Henrico County, vol. 1688-1697, p. 322, Va. State Library.

2 Hening's Statutes, vol. Ill, p. 87.

3 Becords of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1684-1699, p. 83, Va. State Library. The woman in this case was of English birth, Ann Wall by name. She was the mother of two bastards by a negro whom she claimed as her husband. She was brought before court and ordered to pay fifteen pounds sterling, in default of which she was to be sold as a servant for a term of five years. It appears that she was unable to secure the amount necessary, and in consequence was turned over to Mr. Peter Hobson, the court declaring at the same time that if, after she obtained her freedom, "she presumed to come into this county (Elizabeth City) she shall be banished to Island of Barbadoes." Her bastards were also delivered to Hobson, to be held until they were thirty years of age.

112 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

to arise upon close association with the African for a great length of time.i There must have been by the middle of the century a number of mulattoes in the Colony, sprung from black mothers, who were less repulsive in person and manners than the average negro. The class of white women who were required to work m the fields belonged to the lowest rank in point of character ; not having been born in Virginia and not having thus acquired from birth a repugnance to association with Africans upon a footing of social equality, they yielded to the temptations of the situations in which they were placed. The offence, whether committed by a native or an imported white woman, was an act of personal degradation that was con- demned by public sentiment with as much severity in the seventeenth century as at all subsequent periods.^ Mulat- toes were referred to by the law as an " abominable mixt- ure,"^ and the mere fact that a marriage ceremony had given apparent sanctity to the relations resulting in such births, did not in the eyes of the community at large make this mixture of whites and blacks less odious in its char- acter. So repugnant to popular feeling became all physical commerce between the races that intermarriages between their members were strictly forbidden, and the minister

1 See Richmond Dispatch, Saturday, June 30, 1894. A letter from Warrenton, Va., dated June 29, gives a case occurring in 1894, which shows that the absence of this prejudice, arising from the same fact, leads to the same result occasionally in the present century.

2 How degraded were the white women who had sexual intercourse with negroes in the seventeentli century is very clearly shown in a revolt- ing series of depositions relating to the case of Mrs. Watkins, preserved in the Eecords of Henrico County, vol. 1677-1692, pp. 191-195, Va. State Library. See the characterization of Mrs. Hyde of York, who is referred to (the exact words are too gross to be qiioted) as a woman of such abandoned character that she would admit even a negro to her embraces. Vol. 1694-1697, p. 14, Va. State Library.

3 Hening's Statutes, vol. Ill, p. 86.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 113

who disregarded tlie provision to this effect was made subject to a fine of ten thousand pounds of tobacco. ^ If a negress gave birth to a bastard child ^ who was entirely of her own color, proving that its father was of African blood, she was sent by her master to the county seat to be chastised by the sheriff. The child remained the prop- erty of her owner. If the mother of a full-blooded negro bastard happened to be free, but was bound for a term of years at the time of its birth, she was required by way of punishment to remain in the same service for an additional period of twenty-four months, and she was also soundly whipped for the offence.^ The child was placed at the disposal of the church wardens of the parish.

In proportion to the population of African blood, there were as many runaways among the slaves as among the white servants. Maryland seems to have been the prov- ince in which the largest number of the fugitives escap- ing beyond the boundaries of the Colony took refuge. A case may be mentioned which shows the means employed in recovering absconding negroes previous to the middle of the century. In the course of the fourth decade, special

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. Ill, p. 454.

- No provision was made by tiie laws of Virginia in the seventeenth century for the legal marriage of negro slaves. The status then was doubtless the same as it was in the nineteenth ; that is to say, the mar- riages of slaves were not recognized in law. Slaves, however, were married with religious services performed by ministers of the Gospel. A negro bastard was one born either of a slave African mother who had not been married with the ordinary religious ceremony to the father of the child, or of a free African mother who had not been married accord- ing to the regulations prescribed by law. The child of a white woman by a negro or mulatto was, under all circumstances, a bastard, as mar- riai;e between individuals of the two races was not allowed by law. In the same way, the child of a negress was, under all circumstances, a bastard if its father was a white man.

3 Becords of ILnrico County, vol. 1G82-1701, p. 190, Va. State Library,

VOL. II. I

114 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

permission was granted to John Mottrom and Edward Fleet to use a section of the train bands, Avith such a quantity of arms and ammunition as they would require, in overtaking certain slaves who had fled from them. The men impressed to take part in this service were to be paid out of the public levy of the counties in which they resided, and satisfaction was to be made in the same manner to the owners of the boats used in the pursuit. The negroes when caught were to be brought back, and after being whipped, were to be put to work again in the field. 1

Whatever disposition may have existed among the slaves to steal away from the plantations to which they belonged, Avas due in some measure to the influence and example of the restless or discontented Avhite servants, who were bolder, more energetic, and more enterprising than members of the African race. The list of laborers on every large estate in the last quarter of the seventeenth century included both negroes and white men ; brought together in intimate and constant association, the slaves were naturally very susceptible to the improper persua- sions of their white companions, and consequently special laws had to be passed to jiunish the white servants who absconded in company with them. Not all of the negroes, however, who were guilty of the offence of running away were prompted to do so by the influence of individuals of the other race. A large proportion of the slaves, es- pecially in the period following 1670, had only been recently imported into the Colony, and being African savages unaccustomed to a life of labor and restraint, it is not strange that many should have felt and acted upon the impulse to seek freedom by flight. This part of the black population had not yet acquired an

1 General Court Orders, June 80, 1640, EoUnson Transcripts, p. 13.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 115

attachment to the plantations of their masters owing to their recent importation. One of the most powerful in- fluences that fostered a steady and sober spirit in the negroes who were natives of the soil, was thus entirely absent in the case of the imported slaves unless they had reached the Colony whilst still very young.

It was not until 1672, that we discover indications of open discontent among the negroes of Virginia. An Act of Assembly passed in that year reveals the fact that there were slaves in rebellion in different parts of the Colony at this time, and that it had been found so far impossible to subdue and capture them.^ There does not appear to have been any movement among them resembling an organized insurrection ; it was rather a number of cases in which two or more, or even one, had taken refuge in the fastnesses of the wilderness of forest. Abandoning as hopeless all thought of seizing these fugi- tives by peaceful means, the House of Burgesses authorized whoever should seek to capture them, whether by legal warrant or by hue and cry, to kill them on the spot if they attempted to resist arrest. The master of every slave who perished under these circumstances received satisfaction for his loss at the public charge to the extent of four thousand five hundred pounds of tobacco. If the successful effort to seize the negro resulted in wounding him, his owner was recouped in proportion to the loss entailed by his sickness, which probably included the medical expense of the cure, payment being made in the form of a certificate, which was to be presented to the General Assembly to be honored. In every instance in which a slave had fled to an Indian town, its chief was required to bring him before the nearest justice of the peace, receiving as a reward a certain amount of roanoke, 1 Ilening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 299

116 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

or merchandise if he preferred. ^ All absconding negroes who were arrested, but whose owners were unknown, were directed by an order of court passed in 1691 to be for- warded to Jamestown, where they remained until claimed, the masters of fugitives sending thither their marks and descriptions. 2 There were cases in which the names of slaves, who had run away and become notorious outlaws by the outrages they committed, were referred to in special laws of the Assembly. Such a case was that of the negro who, about 1700, took refuge in the woods ex- tending over the greater part of the counties of James City, York, and New Kent, and who was charged with ravaging the crops, perpetrating robberies, and carrying the greatest consternation into every community in which he appeared. A reward of one thousand pounds was offered for the body of this runaway, whether produced dead or alive. It was declared to be a felony to enter- tain him. It would seem from this that a number of white persons were either in collusion with him, or were afraid to arrest him when he came to their houses.^

A few years previous to this, a mulatto, who had fled from his master, Ralph Wormeley of Middlesex, concealed himself in the fastnesses of Rappahannock County. He drew around' him a number of negro accomplices, and in a short time became an object of popular terror; he carried off numerous hogs, and went so far as to break into one of his master's stores, from which he took away a quantity of goods, including several carbines. He was at last forced to surrender.*

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, pp. 299, 300.

2 Becords of York County, vol. 1690-1694, p. 110, Va. State Library ; Becords of Henrico County, vol. 1688-1697, p. 267, Va. State Library.

3 Hening's Statutes, vol. HI, p. 210.

* Becords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1G80-1G91, orders Nov. 9, 1691.

SYSTEM OF LABOR IIT

All the laws relating to fugitive negroes refer to the number who were at large in the latter part of the seven- teenth century, and the evil was so crying in itself, and so likely to lead to worse consequences, that the most summary disposition of runaways, who refused to return to their masters by submitting to arrest, was allowed with the full concurrence of public sentiment. ^ As a slave could not be punished like a servant who had raised his hand against his master, by an extension of his term, his owner was permitted instead to inflict corporal pun- ishment upon him. If he happened to die in consequence of the severity of this punishment, the master was not held to have been guilty of felon}^ it being the presump- tion of the law that the act was devoid of malice, as no man would voluntarily and intentionally destroy his own property. This law was one of the first indications in colonial legislation that the increasing importation of negroes was arousing apprehension among the planters of a possible outbreak on the part of the slaves. A still more unmistakable evidence of this feeling appears in a measure passed in 1680,^ which was the reenactment in a more rigid form of the law of 1639,^ prohibiting the use by a negro of all instruments of offence or defence, such as clubs, swords, guns, and staffs. If he raised a weapon to strike or shoot a Christian, whether his master or not, he was to be punished by the infliction of thirty lashes on his bare back. Twice during the course of each year the minister of each parish was required after the second lesson in the divine service to read this statute to his congrega- tion,* and a failure to do so was an indictable offence.

No slave was allowed to leave the plantation of his master without a certificate of permission to go abroad,

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. Ill, p. 86. 3 /^^-j.^ vol. I, p. 226.

2 Ibid., vol. II, pp. 481, 482. * Ibid., vol. II, p. 492.

118 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

and tliis permission was only to be granted when he was sent off on an important errand. If he was found wan- dering about without the passport required by hiw, he was taken before the nearest justice of the peace, who, after giving him a whipping, forwarded him to the con- stable in the adjacent county, who in his turn repeated the whipping, and then delivered him to the constable beyond, and this course was continued until the slave finally reached the hands of his master. If he was allowed to escape by the carelessness of one of these constables, the owner could recover a large sum in a court of law. No strange negro was suffered to remain on a plantation four hours after his first appearance un- less he had in his possession a certificate showing that his absence from home was properly authorized. ^

It reveals the great importance attached by the officials to the various laws for the prevention of slave insurrec- tions, that Governor Andros, in 1691, issued a strong proclamation calling attention to the general remissness in their enforcement, in consequence of which, negroes had run together in certain parts of the Colony, causing assemblages so dangerous as to threaten the peace of the whole community. He commanded that no certificates should be given to slaves allowing them to go off the estates of their masters, and in order that this injunction should come to the ears of all the planters, he required that his proclamation should be read in the churches, at the musters and militia meetings, and on every occasion of great publicity .^

1 Hening's StaUttes, vol. II, pp. 481, 493. An instance in which four hundred pounds of tobacco were recovered by a planter on account of the default of a constable under these circumstances is recorded in Becords of York County, vol. 1687-1691, p. 282, Va. State Library.

2 Jiecords of York County, vol. 1694-1697, pp. 22, 23, Va. State Library.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 119

When a slave was guilty of murder, he was arrested by the sheriff of the county in which the felony had occurred, and thrown into jail, and there he remained in irons until his case was brought to trial. The first step to this was the transmission of information to the Governor that the crime had been committed; upon the reception of this information, that official directed that an oyer and ter- miner be issued to such persons residing in the county where the slave was held, whom he considered to be fit to determine the guilt or innocence of the prisoner. In the inquiry which they at once instituted, the accused could be convicted on the testimony of himself or two reputable witnesses, or one witness whose testimony was supported by strong circumstantial evidence. He could not claim the privilege of a trial by jury.^ The expenses entailed in supporting the slave during the time of his stay in jail were provided for in the public levy.^ If he was hung, the justices decided upon his value and returned a certifi- cate embodying their estimate to the General Assembly, who made an appropriation to the master equal to the stated amount.^ Rape of white women, which has become the most characteristic crime of the African since his emancipation in the nineteenth century, was also com- mitted by him in the seventeenth.* An ordinary assault by a slave even upon a white man was punished by a severe whipping only.^ When the offence was attended by aggravated circumstances and the person guilty of it was a free negro, male or female, the infliction of stripes

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. Ill, p. 103.

2 Records of Henrico County, vol. 1688-1G97, p. 16, Va. State Library.

3 Hening's Statutes, vol. Ill, p. 270.

* Nov. 25, 1677, General Court Orders, 1677-1682. " Strong measures to be taken for apprehending Robin, a negro who had ravished a white woman." Robinson Transcripts, p. 264.

° Records of York County, vol. 1G90-1694, p. 343, Va. State Library.

120 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

upon liis or her back was followed by imprisonment, which continued until the costs were paid and security for good behavior was given. In 1693, an action of tres- pass was brought in the county court of York by a well- knoAvn j^lanter named Sampson and his wife against a negress and her husband, on the ground that they had made a violent attack upon the person of Mrs. Sampson and threatened to take her life. Of this offence, the negress was convicted. She was whipped by the sheriff of the county until she had received twenty- nine lashes, and was then thrown into jail to remain until she could find some one to go on her bond to keep the peace. Her char- acter was considered to be so dangerous and her life so disorderly, that the court entered a rule that unless she could show that her claim to freedom was capable of the most irrefutable proof, she should be transported from the Colony. Not being able to show this, she was sent out of Virginia as a person whose j)resence was calculated to disturb the peace of the community. When the act of the slave amounted only to a menace, the person who was the object of this menace could compel the master of the negro to give bond as a security for his good behavior. ^

The petty offences of negroes involving the interests of their masters only were dealt with in the seventeenth century in the same manner, as a rule, as they were in the eighteenth and nineteenth, their owners being allowed to inflict such punishment as appeared to them to be advis- able. An exception seems to have been made in the case of hog-stealing. Upon the commission of the first offence of this kind, the slave was soundly whipped, and for the second, his ears were nailed to the pillory and afterwards

1 Hecords of EUzabeth City County, vol. 1684-1609. p. 126, Ya. State Library. See also liecords of York Couiiti/, vol. 1(390-1094, p. 287, Va. State Library.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 121

severed from his head with a knife. This punishment was severe enough to accomplish the purpose for which it was intended, but like a great majority of the drastic measures passed with reference to the slaves, it was doubt- less very much modified wdien it came to be enforced, if it was not ignored altogether. No traveller in Virginia in the seventeenth century has remarked upon the number of earless negroes in the Colony, and in that age, as in more recent times, it must have been difficult for individuals of this race to have resisted the temptation of running down tlie many fine young hogs that crossed their path in the forest in whichever direction they might have been pro- ceeding. It is quite unlikely that the master would have been willing to have had a valuable slave lowered in value in case he desired to sell him, as was always possible, by reporting him to the authorities to be subjected to dis- figurement for life. Self-interest was alive here even if sentiment was dormant. A negro w^ith two ears w^as worth more in the market than a dozen hogs, and to remove one of his ears was to proclaim to every planter in the Colony that he was a felon whom it would have been unwise to purchase.^

The law required that the same barbarous punishment should be imposed when the slave was convicted of rob- bing a house or store. He was first lashed by the sheriff until sixty strokes had been received, and was then placed in the pillory with his ears nailed to the posts, in which position he was compelled to remain for half an hour, at the end of which time these members were severed from his head. 2

There are indications of the presence of free negroes in the Colony at a comparatively early date. The}'' were

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. Ill, p. 179.

^ Records of Middlesex County, original vol. 1694-1705, p. 140.

122 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

either the offspring of members of their own race who had been set at liberty, or they were slaves who had been emancipated by their masters. In many cases, the be- stowal upon them of all the rights of freedom had been without restriction. This was the course pursued by Colonel Nathaniel Bacon, Sr., with reference to his slave Kate, to whom liberty had been promised by his wife before her death. ^ In other cases, the gift was made sub- ject to certain conditions, either temporary or permanent in their nature. John Farrar, of Henrico, in emancipat- ing a negro who had grown to old age in his service, required that until the following Christmas lie was to remain on the estate to which he was then attached, and was to take an active part in producing the crop to be planted in the course of that year.^ Tony Bowyer, the property of Richard Bennett, was liberated by his master on condition that he should deliver annually eight hun- dred pounds of tobacco, and the General Court, after the death of Bennett, required Tony to furnish ample security for the payment of this amount. ^ Under the will of Mrs. Beazley, which w^as admitted to probate about the middle of the century, one of her slaves was devised to a kinsman for a term of eight years, and, at its expiration, he was to be set free, and the customary allowance under the circumstances, of three barrels of Indian corn and a suit of clothes, was to be made to him. The negro was assigned by his mistress to a Mrs. Lucas, who, after com- pelling him to remain in her employment three years longer than the will of Mrs. Beazley prescribed, at the end of that time forced him to sign a paper binding him to continue with her during the course of twenty years.

1 Becords of York County, vol. 1690-1694, p. 154, Va. State Library.

2 Records of Henrico County, vol. 1677-1692, p. 299, Va. State Library. ^ Becords of the General Court, p. 243.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 123

These facts were embodied in a petition whicli he entered in court for the purpose of constraining Mrs. Lucas to remunerate him for the three years beyond his legal term which she had forced Inm to serve. ^

Nicholas Martian, of York, directed in his will that when the first crop of tobacco had been gathered after the pay- ment of the debts which he left at his decease, his two negroes, Philip and Nicholas, should be set free, and that one cow, three barrels of Indian corn, clothes, and nails should be given to each of tliem. Each one was also to be permitted during his life to have a certain area of land in which to plant. ^

Thomas Whitehead, of York, by will emancipated his slave, John, and bequeathed to him a great variety of clothing, and also two cows, ordering that he should be allowed the use of as much ground as he could cultivate, and the possession of a house. So great was his confi- dence in the discretion and integrity of this negro, that he appointed him the guardian of Mary Rogers, a ward of Whitehead's, and overseer of her property, offices which the court refused to suffer him to fill.^

Daniel Parke shoAved equal generosity to a favorite slave. He instructed his executors to pay to this negro, whom he set free by his will, fifteen bushels of shelled Indian corn, and fifty pounds of dried beef, annually, as long as the man should live. In addition, he was to receive each year from Parke's estate, a kersey coat, a pair of breeches, a hat, two pairs of shoes, two pairs of yarn stockings, two shirts, a pair of drawers, and an axe and hoe. His levies were also to be paid.*

1 Palmer's Calendar of Virginia State Papers, vol. I, p. 9. See also Records of the General Court, p. 218.

2 Becords of York County, vol. 1633-1694, p. 109, Va. State Library. 8 Ibid., vol. 1657-1662, pp. 211, 217.

* Ibid., vol. 1687-1691, pp. 278, 279.

124 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

Robert Griggs of Lancaster granted by Avill freedom to all of his slaves, for whose welfare he provided with great liberality. To a mulatto woman owned by him, he bequeathed a heifer and three barrels of Indian corn, and he commanded his executor to allot her a house and a cer- tain area of ground as long as she continued to live with her husband ; and she was also to be supplied with one cotton suit every year. Two of his young negroes were to serve for a period of thirty-eight years, and then to be emancipated. All the children in his possession were to remain slaves until they reached their forty-fifth year. Those of his negroes who did not come within these pro- visions were not to be set free until thirty-nine years had passed since their arrival in the country. ^

John Carter of Lancaster, one of the largest slave- holders in the Colony, by his will gave freedom to two of his negroes who were married to each other. To each he devised a cow and a calf and three barrels of Indian corn, and instructed his heirs to allow them the use of a con- venient house, firewood, timber, and as much land as they could cultivate. He also enjoined that the two young daughters of this couple should receive their liberty when they reached their eighteenth year, and as a provision for them, he gave each one a yearling heifer with its increase, which was to be permitted to run with the cattle of his wife after his death. ^

A more remarkable instance of generosity on the part of the Virginian slaveholder of the seventeenth century is to be found among the records of Lower Norfolk County. It is not improbable that the beneficiaries in this case were the illegitimate children of the testator. The will of John Nicholls, tiled in 1697, disclosed the fact

1 Records of Lancaster County, original vol. 1674-1687, p. 91.

2 Ibid., 1690-1709, p. 3.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 125

that he had emancipated a midatto boy and girl belong- ing to him, children of one of his female slaves. The boy at the time of Nicholls' death was serving an appren- ticeship to a blacksmith in Nansemond County. To the girl, he devised two hundred acres of land in fee simple, and to the boy three hundred and ten acres. To the latter, he also bequeathed a pair of millstones, and all the ironwork necessary for the equipment of a water-mill. He gave both children the cattle which at the time of his death would be running on the lands he had left to them by will, and they were to share alike in the division. To the girl, he bequeathed a feather-bed and bolster, a rug and two blankets, four ewes and one ram, a sow and pig, one woollen and one linen wheel, a pair of wool, a pair of tow, and a pair of cotton cards. To the boy, he bequeathed a feather-bed and bolster, two blankets and a rug, four ewes and a ram, a sow and pig, and a musket. In case either died before he or she came of age, the survivor was to be the heir of the deceased.^

The records of the seventeenth century disclose the fact that numerous suits were entered by slaves for the recov- ery of their freedom, and that the courts showed them the amplest justice. In an action brought in 1695 in Elizabeth City County by a negro against the executors of Colonel John Lear, in which it was alleged that he was entitled to his liberty, the executors failed to make their appearance. An order was adopted that unless Lewis Burwell and Thomas Goddin, who were the representatives of Colonel Lear, attended the next court, the plaintiff should be set free. 2 A similar order was entered in York in the case of Henry Tyler, the administrator of ]\Ir. INIartin

1 Becords of Lower Norfolk County^ original vol. 1695-1703, f. p. 96.

2 Becords of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1684-1699, p. 107, Va. State Library.

126 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

Gardner, who had emancipated a slave bearing the name of Napho.i

In the interval between 1635 and 1700, there were probably a number of persons of African blood in the Colony, who had raised themselves to a condition of moderate importance in the community. There were certainly some who were able to write. ^ It is known that patents to land were obtained by a few. Thus in 1654, one hundred acres lying on Pongoteague River in Northampton County were granted to Richard Johnson, a negro, upon the basis of head rights which were repre- sented by two white men. In the description of this tract, it is stated to have been contiguous to estates owned by John Johnson and Anthony Johnson, both of the African race.^ Two years later, Benjamin Dole, a member of the same race, received a patent to three hun- dred acres in Surry County, which was due him for the transportation of six persons.^ The transfer to negroes of land purchased by them from private grantors was not uncommon ; thus in 1668, Robert Jones, a tailor residing in York, sold to John Harris, an African freeman, fifty

1 Becords of York County, vol. 1690-1694, p. 328, Va. State Library.

2 See Becords of Middlesex Couiity, original vol. 1G79-1694, p. 14. See also Becords of Northampton County, original vol. 1689-1698, p. 250.

3 Va. Land Patents, vol. Ill, -g.2Qi^. RicliardJolmson was a carpenter (see Becords of Accomac County, original vol. 1663-1666, p. 54) and a mulatto (Ibid., original vol. 1682-1697, p. 160). We find in the Becords of Northampton County entry of a suit by Anthony Johnson for the pur- pose of recovering his negro servant, who had been appropriated by Rob- ert Parker. See original vol. 1651-1654, p. 226. There seems to have been some dispute as to the land owned by John Johnson, as the following entry in the Becords of Northampton County, original vol. 1651-1654, p. 200, shows: "'Whereas John Johnson, Negro, hath this day made his complaint in Court that John Johnson, Sr., detaineth a patent to 450 acres, which John Johnson, Jr., claims, John Johnson, Sr., is ordered to appear in Court."

* Va. Land Patents, vol. 1655-1664, p. 71.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 127

acres which lie possessed in New Kent.i The estates of negroes were sometimes sufficiently large to require the appointment by the court of administrators to settle up their affairs. ^

The pride of the Virginians was shown in the statute which provided that no black freeman. should be allowed to secure by indenture the service of white persons to continue for the usual term of years,^ but he was not for- bidden to acquire an interest of that nature in an Indian or an individual of his own race. There seems, however, to be little room for doubt that the free negroes who had obtained an ownership in real estate were allowed to exercise the suffrage in the times when it was based upon a property qualification. When the privilege was thrown open to the freemen of the Colony without restriction, this right w^as not only enjoyed by the African free- holders, but it would be inferred that there was no dis- crimination in this respect against any negro who could show that he was not a slave, whether in possession of property or not. All freemen are included in the grant of the right of suffrage under the statutes passed in March, 1655, and in March, 1657, as well as in 1676, when the peoj)le had triumphed under Bacon.* In no instance is the black freeman excepted from the oj)eration of these statutes by name. In the law of 1699, readopting the

1 Becords of York County, vol. 1664-1672, p. 327, Va. State Library. Leases for 99 years to negroes were not uncommon ; see a lease of 200 acres for this period to Philip Morgan, a negro, by John Parker of Accomac, original vol. 1676-1690, p. 185.

- Becords of York Coxmty, vol. 166-4-1672, p. 495. A judgment for 486 pounds of tobacco against the estate of Edward Jessop, a mulatto, is recorded in Northampton County, original vol. 1683-1689, p. 258. An instance of a negro surety is found in the records of the same county, original vol. 1689-1698, p. 58.

3 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 280.

4 Udd., vol. I, pp. 403, 475 ; vol. II, p. .356

128 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

property qualification, women sole or covenant, males under the age of twenty-one years, and Popish recusants were denied the voting privilege, but no reference by way of exception is made to negro freeholders. ^ That the free negro, mulatto, or Indian had been given the right of suffrage previous to 1723 is to be inferred from the provision adopted in that session that none of these persons should thereafter be allowed to enjoy it.^ It would seem to follow logically from the possession of this right by the negro freeman or freeholder, that he was permitted to perform many of the duties expected of white citizens in that age. He was certainly subject to its burdens, such, for instance, as the payment of county levies. 2 In one case, a negro was appointed by the jus- tices of Lancaster a beadle, but it was specially provided that his duties should be restricted to inflicting punish- ment b}'- stripes on those whom the court should condemn to the lash.*

There is no evidence to show that the free negroes of the seventeenth century exhibited as a mass any degree of thrift. It appears from the county records that the largest proportion of them were employed under the pro- visions of indentures similar to those by which the white servants were bound. Their general lack of prosperity was clearly revealed in the fact that one of the strongest reasons which led to the passage of the famous law of 1699, requiring the exportation of every African freeman within six months after he was emancipated, was that the manumitted slaves became in their old age a charge upon

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. Ill, p. 172. ^ Ibid., vol. IV, pp. 183, 131.

3 Records of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1081-1099, p. 2, Va. State Library.

* Becords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1652-1657, p. 213.

SYSTEM OF LABOR 129

the country, as tliey were lacking in the means to support themselves.^ It is also significant to note that the addi- tional reason was advanced that the free negroes were receivers of goods stolen either by the slaves or the white servants from their masters. ^ Under the provisions of this measure, which was really designed to discourage emancipation, the planter who liberated a negro and failed to send him out of the Colony was liable to a levy on his property to the extent of ten pounds sterling, to be employed in paying the expenses incurred in the freed- man's transportation. If a surplus remained after these expenses had been met, it was to be used by the church wardens of the j)arish in which his former owner resided, for the benefit of the poor. If the slave had been manu- mitted by will, the heirs of the testator were exposed to the same penalty for a failure to comply with the require- ments of the statute. 2

We have already given a brief account of the Indian as a servant. He also played a part of considerable impor- tance in the Colony as a slave. He did not, however, appear in this character until 1676, when it was decided by the Assembly, which at that time was under the con- trol of Bacon, to make legal the enslavement of all the aborigines captured in war, under the definition of service for life. In 1661, it had been expressly declared that no Indian who had fallen into the hands of the whites should be disposed of absolutely and permanently, and this pro- vision, in conformity with all of the same kind previously

1 Heniiig's Statutes, vol. Ill, p. 87.

2 See, in illustration of this fact, an instance preserved in the Records of Nurthampton County, original vol. 1689-1()98, p. 463.

^ In 1698, Richard Trotter of York County, by the terms of his will, emancipated two of his slaves, to whom he bequeathed fifteen pounds sterling apiece, to meet the expense of their removal from the Colony. Vol. 1694-1702, pp. 194, 195, Va. State Library.

VOL. II. K

130 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

established, had its origin in a desire to promote as far as possible peaceful relations with the surrounding tribes. ^ As late as 1670, it was proclaimed that the youthful mem- bers of these tribes, seized during the progress of war, should not be held beyond their thirtieth year.^ It re- mained for Bacon to adopt the rule that slavery for life should be the lot of every Indian who should come into the hands of the whites during the period of hostilities, and the Government, after the insurrection was over, fol- lowed the policy which he had inaugurated.^ The scope of the principle was extended in 1682, by the passage of a law permitting the holding in bondage of all Indians who had been captured by tribes at peace with the Colony and sold to the planters, or who had been brought into the country from a distance by persons engaged in trade with the people of Virginia. The regulations established for the management of such slaves were practically the same as those in operation for the control of the African. They were brought within the scope of every measure adopted for the protection of the negro slaves, and morally as well as materially stood precisely upon the same foot- ing in the view of the law. They were, however, valued at somewhat lower rates.

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 143.

^ Ibid., vol. II, p. 283. "if meu or woiueu, twelve years aud no longer."

3/6iU,pp. 346, 440.

CHAPTER XII

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLAXTEE

To inquire into the origin of the planters of Virginia in the seventeenth century would be to enter into a domain which is more distinctly a part of social than economic history. Such an inquiry was justified in the case of servants because they bore the same practical relation to the community as the ordinary beast of bur- den, only tempered by their human intelligence, which led to their receiving more conscientious treatment from their masters. Nevertheless, even from an economic point of view, it is important to know that the great body of men who sued out patents to public lands in Virginia were sprung from the portion of the English common- wealth that was removed from the highest as well as from the lowest ranks in the community, and which, while in many instances sharing the blood of the noblest, yet as a rule belonged to the classes engaged in the different pro- fessions and trades, in short, to the workers in all of the principal branches of English activity. With those power- ful traditions animating them, the traditions of race and nationality, blending with the traditions of special pursuits, they had also that enterprising spirit which prompted them to abandon home and country to make a lodgment in the West. It is incorrect to infer that their position in their native land was lacking in advantages because they showed a willingness to emigrate. Of all the mod- 131

132 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

ern races, the English have exhibited the most marked disposition to establish colonies. Until the settlement of Virginia, this disposition had had a latent existence only. That region furnished it the earliest opportunity for its display. The colony at Jamestown was the first swarm which, issuing from the central hive in England, estab- lished a permanent home abroad. Since the 13th of May, 1607, how many swarms have gone forth from the same hive, how vast a portion of the surface of the earth has now been populated by the same race! The same practical aspirations which in the present century have led to the formation of so many English commonwealths in the Australasian seas, influenced men of the same manly and self-reliant stock to remove to Virginia. A natural desire for an improved condition has been one of the strongest impulses for that migration to the Western World which began in the sixteenth century. This de- sire was just as pronounced in the founders of the most powerful families of the Colony in the seventeenth cen- tury, men of honorable origin in England, as it was in the humblest person who secured his passage thither by selling his labor for a certain term to begin after his arrival. In the hearts of both, there lingered that deep love of their native land which moved them to speak of it as "home" until their latest hour, and which was transmitted to their descendants, although the latter per- haps had never walked an English street or gazed upon an English landscape. ^ This profound affection for the mother country, a trait which is distinctive of the off- shoots of all the great races, had a vast influence upon

1 The references to England as "home" are very numerous in the county records. See, for instance, Beeords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1690-1709, f. p. 3, where John Carter speaks of his crop "going home," that is, to England.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 133

the whole system of affairs in Virginia. It shaped the tone of its social institutions, moulded its political spirit, and guided its religious thought, and but for the peculiar conditions attending the culture of tobacco, would have governed its agricultural development also. There was one department of the economic life of the people in which it could exhibit itself without any obstruction in the local surroundings; this was the general appointments of the household.

In the previous chapters, I have sought to give some account of the different j^roperties which the planter held, the slaves, the servants, the live stock, the estate in land. I have now come to the description of his house, his furniture, his utensils, his food, his drink, his dress, his means of getting from place to place, and the kindred economies of his daily existence. The only inference to be drawn from the copious details furnished by the re- corded inventories of the seventeenth century, is that the members of the planting class, ranging from the high- est to the lowest rank, were in the possession, in pro- portion to their resources, of all those articles which in that age were considered to be necessary to domestic com- fort and convenience. Virginian homes in this period did not differ in their interior arrangement from those English homes that were owned by men of the same fortune as the householders of the Colony. In one im- portant respect only the Virginian residence fell short of the English. This was in its construction. With a few exceptions, the contents of the house were imported, and were therefore equal in quality to the articles of the same character in common use in the mother country. The bedsteads, couches, chests, and looking-glasses of the chamber; the tables, chairs, plates, knives, and cups of the hall ; the spits, ladles, chafing-dishes, kettles, and

134 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

pots of the kitchen; the churns, cheese-presses, and pails of the dairy, had been purchased in the same shops in which the English householder had bought his supplies of a similar nature. The Virginian residence, however, was in its framework the product of local skill and labor. The plank, the mortar, the brick, and the stone entering into its composition had been obtained in the Colony, and had been put together there. The tastes of the owner, even if he desired to erect a dwelling-house which in general appearance should resemble some one of those belonging to the rural gentry of England, must have remained ungratified on account of the great costliness of securing both the materials and the mechanical skill which were required. There had not been sufficient accu- mulation of wealth in Virginia in the seventeenth cen- tury to permit of large expenditure in building houses. The outlay attending the importation from the mother country of highly trained workmen and of special ma- terials, would have imposed a burden difficult for even the most affluent members of the planting class to bear.^

So far as information is to be derived from records, there was no residence in the Colony in the seventeenth century which could make any pretensions to beauty of design. The homes even of the most prominent planters were simple and plain. Brick seems to have entered only to a limited extent into the construction of the dwellings. It would appear that all bricks used in Virginia in this century were manufactured there. As this material

1 So far as I have been able to discover, the first building materials of any kind brought into Virginia from England in the course of the seventeenth century were imported in 1607 for the use of George Percy. In memoranda of the Ninth Earl of Northumberland, the following entry is found : "To Mr. INIelshewe for many necessaries, which he delivered to Mr. Percy toward building of a house in Virginia, 14s." See Brown's Genesis of the United States, i^. 178.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 135

was in general use in England, it is not surprising to dis- cover that there were bricklayers, who were also doubtless brickmakers, in the band of settlers who arrived in 1607. Among the artisans whom the Company sought to obtain in 1609, with a view to their transportation to Jamestown, there were four brickmakers, who quite probably were also expected to serve as bricklayers. ^ Brickmakers and brick- layers were advertised for on two occasions in 1610.2 It cannot be stated with certainty whether these men Avere dispatched to the Colony. No brickmakers are included by name in the list of persons sent over with the Second and Third Supplies. Dale reached Virginia in 1611, and was probably accompanied by workingmen of this class, as he mentions incidentally in his letter to the Council, written in the year of his arrival, that one of the most important tasks which the colonists had to perform was to manu- facture bricks. 3 Kilns were certainly erected at Henrico wdien that place was selected as the site of the new town which he had determined to build. ^ The first story of all the houses there, was constructed of brick made on the spot by men who had been brought thither in comj)any with spadesmen, carpenters, wood-choppers, and sawyers, for this special purpose. It was the bricks manufactured here which Whitaker, in his Good Newes from Virginia, had in mind when he related that the colonists had, in digging for bricks, come uj^on a red clay possessing the most excellent qualities for this purpose.^ At this time,

1 A True and Sincere Declaration, Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 353. " I did visit . . . ould Short, the bricklayer," President Wingfield records in his Discourse, 1607. See Works of Capt. John Smith, p. xc.

2 Broadside, Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 356. Broadside, Ibid., p. 439.

3 Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 492.

* New Life of Virginia, p. 14, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. I. 5 Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 584. "If we digge any depth (as wee have done for our bricks) wee finde it to be redde clay."

.>^

■%^^^^

134

ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

pots of the kitchen; the churns, cheese-presses, and pails of the cLairy, had been purchased in the same shops in which the English householder had bought his supplies of a similar nature. The Virginian residence, however, was in its framework the product of local skill and labor. The plank, the mortar, the brick, and the stone entering into its composition had been obtained in the Colony, and had been put together there. The tastes of the owner, even if he desired to erect a dwelling-house which in general appearance should resemble some one of those belonging to the rural gentry of England, must have remained ungratified on account of the great costliness of securing both the materials and the mechanical skill which were required. There had not been sufficient accu- mulation of wealth in Virginia in the seventeenth cen- tury to permit of large expenditure in building houses. The outlay attending the importation from the mother country of highly trained workmen and of special ma- terials, would have imposed a burden difficult for even the most affluent members of the planting class to bear.i

So far as information is to be derived from records, there was no residence in the Colony in the seventeenth century which could make any pretensions to beauty of design. The homes even of the most prominent planters were simple and plain. Brick seems to have entered only to a limited extent into the construction of the dwellings. It would appear that all bricks used in Virginia in this century were manufactured there. As this material

1 So far as I have been able to discover, the first building materials of any kind brought into Virginia from England in the course of the seventeenth century were imported in 1607 for the use of George Percy, In memoranda of the Ninth Earl of Northumberland, the following entry is found : "To Mr. Melshewe for many necessaries, which he delivered to Mr. Percy toward building of a house in Virginia, Us." See Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 178.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER

135

was in general use in England, it is not surprising to dis- cover that there were bricklayers, who were also doubtless brickmakers, in the band of settlers who arrived in 1607. Among the artisans whom the Company sought to obtain in 1609, with a view to tlieir transportation to Jamestown, there were four brickmakers, who quite probably were also expected to serve as bricklayers. ^ Brickmakers and brick- layers were advertised for on two occasions in 1610.^ It cannot be stated with certainty whether these men were dispatched to the Colony. No brickmakers are included by name in the list of persons sent over with the Second and Third Supplies. Dale reached Virginia in 1611, and was probably accompanied by workingmen of this class, as he mentions incidentally in his letter to the Council, written in the year of his arrival, that one of the most important tasks which the colonists had to perform was to manu- facture bricks.^ Kilns were certainly erected at Henrico when that place was selected as the site of the new town which he had determined to build.'* The first story of all the houses there, was constructed of brick made on the spot by men who had been brought thither in company with spadesmen, carpenters, wood-choppers, and sawyers, for this special purpose. It was the bricks manufactured here which Whitaker, in his G-ood Newes from Virginia^ had in mind when he related that the colonists had, in digging for bricks, come upon a red clay possessing the most excellent qualities for this purpose.^ At this time,

1 A True and Sincere Declaration, Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 353. " I did visit . . . ould Short, the bricklayer," President Wingfield records in his Discourse, 1607. See Works of Capt. John Smith, p. xc.

2 Broadside, Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 356. Broadside, Ibid., p. 439.

3 Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 492.

* New Life of Virginia, p. 14, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. T. 5 Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 584. " If we digge any depth (as wee have done for our briclis) wee finde it to be redde clay."

136 ECONOMIC HISTOKY OF VIRGINIA

there were in the other settlements of Virginia no houses built of this material even in part. Tlie various structures at Jamestown and the cabins and cottages at Point Com- fort were made of wood.

In 1617, brickmakers were again included in the list of artisans whom it was sought to secure by publication of broadsides. The college lands had now been laid off and the college hall was to be erected. Brickmakers were to be attached permanently to these lands. ^ It is to be inferred that a certain number were brought over to the Colony at the expense of the Company under the formal terms of indentures, for the Governor and Council in Virginia were directed some time later to hold the bricklayers who had bound themselves by contract to build the college strictly to the obligations of their agreement, in order that when the time for the beginning of the construction of the house was determined upon, there would be ready at hand the requisite quantity of bricks. ^ The importation of these brickmakers and the strictness with which they were held to their covenants indicate how few were the members of this class of workmen in the Colony. This is confirmed by the request which William Capps made of the Com- pany. In a letter addressed to the Deputy Treasurer in 1623, he declared his willingness to undertake the erection of an inn at Elizabeth City and another at Jamestown, provided that he was furnished with ten or twelve artisans, including brickmakers, for the work.^ It is possible that Capps had reason to expect that this number of artisans would be detached from the public lands for the purpose

1 Abstracts of Proceedings of the Virginia Company of London, vol. I, p. 12.

2 Letter of Company to Governor and Council in Virginia, Xeill's Virginia Company of London, p. 330.

^ Boyal Hist. 3ISS. Commission, Eighth Report, Appx., p. 39.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 137

of carrying his proposition into practical effect, bnt it seems rather probable that he anticipated that the work- men whom he asked for would be imported in a body from England. That bricks, however, were numerous in the Colony at this time, appears from the fact that Captain Nuce cased the sides of his well with this material. It is also stated that when the Indians on the day of the mas- sacre, in 1622, attacked the home of Ralph Hamor, they were driven off with brick-bats. ^ A still more striking proof of this fact is that bricks now formed one of the principal articles exported from Virginia to the Bermudas, and there exchanged, along with aquavitie, oil, and sack, for the fruits and plants, ducks, turkeys, and limestone of that fertile island.^ There is nothing, however, to show that when the letters patent of the Company were re- voked in 1624, nearly a full generation after the settle- ment of the country, there was a single house in the Colony constructed entirely of brick, although brickmen were sufficiently numerous to be made subject to a fixed charge for their labor, that is to say, forty pounds of tobacco for laying one thousand bricks.

Thirteen years after the dissolution of the Company, Governor Wyatt was instructed to require every land- owner whose plantation was au hundred acres in extent to erect a dwelling-house of brick, to be twenty-four feet in length and sixteeii feet in breadth, with a cellar attached. In the cases in which the area of the grant exceeded five hundred acres, the size of the dwelling-house was to be enlarged in proportion. This order was a fair sample of many received from the authorities in England who had charge of the affairs of the Colony, showing either the most complete ignorance of the conditions surrounding the Virginians, or indift'erence to the obstacles standing 1 Works of Capt. John SiaUh, i>. oTG. 2 /^,yZ., p. G82.

138 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

in the Avay of the enforcement of their commands. To have compelled every planter to substitute brick for wood in the construction of his residence would have been an imposition of the most tyrannical nature. The instruction was a nullity because it could not be put into operation. The inconvenience as well as the expense of obtaining the brick for several thousand widely separated estates would have been intolerable even if it had been practicable. Such an order at least indicates that brick was not very much used in the construction of plantation residences.^ Secretary Kemp, writing to Secretary Windebank at this time, asserted that the people of Virginia were now show- ing a disposition to erect good houses, but this statement probably had its origin in his desire to make the imj)res- sion on the English Government that the order to build towns, which had only recently been received, had had a marked influence in leading the planters at large to improve the architectural character of their homes. ^ It is possible that Secretary Kemp had in mind Jamestown, where some activity in building in compliance with the Act of Assembly to promote the growth of that corpora- tion was now displayed. In this year, the Secretary had erected a brick residence there, which was described as being the most substantial private dwelling-house in the Colony. 3 It was perhaps the first structure entirely of

^ Instructions to Wyatt, 1638-39, British State Papers, Colonial Entry Book, vol. 79, pp. 219, 23G ; Sainsbunj Abstracts for 1638, p. 46, Va. State Library. This order was repeated in the instructions to Berkeley, 1641. See Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. II, p. 284.

2 Eichard Kemp to Secretary Windebank, British State Papers, Colo- nial, vol. IX, No. 96 ; Sainshury Abstracts for 1638, p. 7, Va. State Library.

3 Letter of Governor and Council in Virginia, Jan. 18, 1639, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. X, No. 5 ; McDonald Papers, vol. II, p. 248, Va. State Library.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 139

brick ever built in Virginia. No account of its exte- rior shape or the division of its apartments has survived ; it was doubtless devoid of architectural pretensions, a square unadorned residence which was not even imposing in size. A number of brick houses were now erected at Jamestown, and if the facilities for securing brick exist- ing there had been extended to the planters at large, it would probably have promoted the use of this material in the construction of their homes. It is not surprising to find that when Berkeley built a residence at Green Spring, distant about two miles from Jamestown, he employed brick in its construction. He was doubtless anxious to set an example which might be followed by the landowners in general. This house had the wide hall characteristic of all the larger dwellings in Virginia at this time, and only six rooms, showing that it was a structure of moderate proportions. The wideness of the hall was for the purpose of obtaining the fullest ventila- tion, the climate of this part of the Colony in the warm season being oppressive and unwholesome. ^

It is quite certain that brick was used very generally in the construction of chimneys before the middle of the cen- tury. Being made on the ground or brought by water from the nearest kiln, the small quantity which each planter required did not put him to serious expense in the transportation. The absence of stone in all parts of the Peninsula was one of the most remarkable features of the country. There were no local quarries from which mate- rial for chimneys could be obtained. It is not likely that wooden cross-pieces daubed with mud would have afforded

1 Neill's Virginia Carolorum, p. 204. There were doubtless out-build- ings. Berkeley also owned three brick houses in Jamestown, as we learn from a deed bearing date March, 1654—55. He sold one of these houses afterwards to Richard Bennett. See Ileuing's b'tatutes, vol. I, p. 407.

140 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

permanent satisfaction. The author of the New De- scription of Virginia^ which was perhaps written about forty years after the foundation of Jamestown, asserts that the people were in possession of a store of brick at that time, and that both houses and chimneys were constructed of this material.^ The correctness of this statement is proved at least by one instance, evidence of which has survived in the records of Surry County ; it is there re- lated that about 1652, Mr. Thomas Warren owned a resi- dence of brick sixty feet in length. ^ Under the terms of the Cohabitation Act of 1662, it was provided that thirty brick houses should be erected at Jamestown, the brick- makers and bricklaj^ers employed in this work to be ob- tained from different parts of the Colony. No difficulty in securing the number required seems to have been antici- pated.^ From the middle to the end of the century, the number of brickmakers steadily increased. Some were men of considerable property. Thus in 1682, John Robert of Lower Norfolk bought of George Newton two hundred acres of land, for which he gave sixteen thousand pounds of tobacco. In the following year, he appointed Joseph Knott his attorney to collect the sums due him in different counties.* John Kingston of York was also a brickmaker in possession of a good estate ; among those

1 New Description of Virginia, p. 7, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III. Bullock, writing about this time, says : " The soil (of Virginia) is a rich black mould for two feet deep, and under it a loam of which they make a fine brick," p. 3. He advised the planters to build their houses of this material. Bullock's Virginia, p. 61.

2 Becords of Surry County, vol. 1671-1684, p. 254, Va.' State Library. One of the rooms in the house of Captain Robert Spencer of the same county was known as the " Brick Room." Ibid., vol. 1G71-1G84, p. 451, Va. State Library.

3 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 172.

* Becords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1675-1686, f. pp. 137, 150.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 141

indebted to him for work which lie had done in the course of his trade was Robert Booth, whose inventory showed an account in Kingston's favor of seven pounds ster- ling. ^ Edwin Malin, also of York, was the owner of a plantation, having on one occasion purchased fifty acres. ^ Thomas Meders of Lancaster held landed property in White Chapel parish in that county.^ Richard Burk of Rappahannock and Robert Wiggins and Thomas Wade of Northampton were also men of considerable means.* John Franklin of Accomac in 1681 bought a single tract that covered five hundred and fifty acres. ^

Many of the brickmakers were indented servants who had been imported by the planters. Such was William Eale of Elizabeth River, who for a certain term belonged to John Townes, by whom he was occasionally hired out.^ Eale had come from Barbadoes. John Talbott had been brought in by Richard Willis of Middlesex.'' Among the

1 Becorcls of York County, vol. 1690-1694, pp. 180, 366, Va. State Library. Kingston, it seems, had been imported under articles of inden- ture by John Forrest. See lUd., vol. 1687-1691, p. 170.

2 Ibid., vol. 1675-1684, p. 42.3, Va. State Library.

3 Becords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1687-1700, p. 12.

*^ Becords of Bappahannoclc County, vol. 1G77-1682, p. 164, Va. State Library; Becords of Northampton County, original vol. 1674-1679, p. 164 ; Ibid., original vol. 1689-1098, p. 391.

^ Becords of Accomac County, original vol. 1676-1690, p. 275.

6 " Agreed between Captain Francis Yeardley of Lynhaven and John Townes of Elizabeth Eiver that William Eale, bricklayer and servant to Mr. Townes, shall well and substantially plaster, white lime . . . over ye ... ye yellow ro'om, kitchen and ye chamber over ye kitchen, and likewise repair all ye rest of ye rooms and chambers in ye house at Lyn- haven ; likewise repair all ye brick work about the dwelling house at Kecaughtan." Becords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1646-1651, f. p. 186.

" Becords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1680-1694, orders Dec. 5, 1692. Among those who fled to New England after tlie suppression of Bacon's insurrection was William Mason, bricklayer. Neill's Virginia Carolorum, p. 376, note.

142 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

planters owning brickkilns was William Sargent of Rjip- paliannock.i Many were in possession of large quanti- ties of brick manufactured either by their own servants or by transient laborers. The inventory of the Croshaw estate, situated in York, which was entered in court in 1668, included one thousand. ^ A large lot of the same material formed a part of the estate of William Heslett of Lower Norfolk. ^ Mr. Robert Booth of York left at his death twenty-three thousand bricks, valued at one hun- dred and eighty-four shillings,* a decline of nearly fifty per cent in comparison with the price in 1668, when they sold for fifteen shillings. It is improbable that when bricks were rated at eight shillings a thousand in Virginia, planters would have been led to import them from Eng- land, where, between 1650 and 1700, they could not be purchased for less than eighteen shillings and eight and one-quarter pence. ^ The difference in price was rendered still greater by the charges for transportation across the ocean.

In the closing years of the century, brick was so com- mon that it was used in supporting the marble slabs of tombs. In his will, Francis Page of York provided for the erection of a brick structure over his grave of equal height with the tombs, also of brick, covering the re- mains of his father and mother.^ No information has

1 liecords of Bappahannock County, vol. 1677-1682, p. 10, Va. State Library.

2 Becords of York County, vol. 1664-1672, p. 401, Va. State Library. As early as 1646, a lot of bricks in possession of Henry Brooke were attached by Nicholas Brooke. See Becords of York County, vol. 1638- 1648, p. 171, Va. State Library.

3 Becords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1695-1703, f. p. 121.

4 Becords of York County, vol. 1690-1694, p. 179, Va. State Library.

5 Rogers' History of Agriculture and Prices in England, vol. V, p. 5-32.

6 Becords of York County, vol. 1690-1694, p. 169, Va. State Library.

DOiNIESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 143

survived as to the material entering into his residence. It is learned from his will that several buildings on his plan- tation, including his malt-house and a barn, were con- structed of brick;! and the probability is that the house in which he lived was also made of that material. There was a brick house standing on the Juxon plantation in York.2 William Fitzhugh, who was very careful in his management, was content to confine the brickwork of his buildings to the chimneys. In a letter bearing the date of 1686, he mentions that all the dwellings on his plantation were furnished with chimneys of brick, and there is little reason to doubt that the same influences governing him, shajied the action in this respect of other planters of equal prominence.^

Defective workmanship in the construction of chimneys of brick grew to be a frequent cause of dispute. In 1674, Captain Philip Lightfoot entered suit against Mr. Ralph Deane on the ground that he had sustained serious injury from the negligent manner in which the lattei- had per- formed his contract in building the brick chimneys which he had agreed to erect.* The use of the same material in the construction of the whole dwelling-house had not be- come common among the planters of Virginia as late as the administration of Spotswood, the erection of brick residences by several prominent landowners in the early part of the eighteenth century having been noted by Bever- ley as a fact of importance, perhaps because exceptional.^ He states that these houses had numerous rooms on a floor, indicating that they were larger in size than the

1 Records of York County, vol. 1690-1694, p. 170, Va. State Library.

2 Ibid., vol. 1G84-1687, pp. 32, 33.

3 Letters of William Fitzhugh, April 22, 1686. * liecords of the General Court, p. 176.

^ Beverley's History of Virginia, p. 235.

144 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

brick dwellings in the previous century, wliicli had been built by Kemp and Berkeley at Jamestown.

In addition to the brick residences in Virginia in the seventeenth century, there were some public buildings constructed of this material. By contract with the Colo- nial Government, Theophilus Hone, Mathew Page, and William Drummond agreed to raise a fort at Jamestown, to have a frontage of brick extending at least one hun- dred and fifty feet.^ After some delay, this fort was built. When Clayton visited the Colony, he found that the structure had been erected in the shape of a half -moon. 2 In the latter part of the century, there was a large house of public entertainment in New Kent known as the Brick House. 2 Some of the county court-houses besides the one at Jamestown were constructed of this material ; the court-house in Gloucester was built of brick,* and so was that in Middlesex.^

1 Becords of General Court, p. 149.

2 Clayton's Virginia, pp. 2.3, 24, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III.

3 James Elcock, in enumerating his expenses in recovering two run- away servants, includes the cost of a pottle of beer vphich he had bought at the Brick House. Becords of York County, vol. 1664-1672, p. 501, Va. State Library. ^

* Becords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1680-1694, orders Feb. 2, 1684. It is incidentally mentioned in this reference that the Gloucester court-house building was of brick, the order providing for the erection of the Middlesex court-house requiring that it should be at least of "equal goodness and dimensions as ye brick court-house lately built in Gloucester county."

5 Becords of Middlesex Coxmty, original vol. 1680-1694, orders Nov. 14, 1692. The order for building of brick was dated Feb. 2, 1684. I have not been able to find any record showing that the original order requiring this court-house to be of this material was carried out. The flooring alone of the court-house in York County seems to have been of brick. In this brief enumeration of public buildings in the Colony constructed of brick, I have designedly omitted all reference to the churches that were made of this material, some of which, like the one standing in Middle Plantation parish, that cost £800, had caused a considerable

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 145

It was entirely natural that the dwellings of the planters of Virginia in the seventeenth century should, in general, have been made of wood. The difficulty of obtaining bricks in the necessary quantities unless the planter had a kiln of his own, which was only possible in the case of wealthy landoAvners, has already been pointed out. The finest timber, on the other hand, was extremely abundant ; oak, elm, ash, chestnut, pine, cypress, cedar, hickory, all were to be found in the native forests. The site of every home was overshadowed by trees of extraordinary height and girth, and even in the rudest period, axes, frows, and saws were near at hand to convert the trunks of these trees into rough planks and boards. In this profusion of timber, Virginia differed essentially from the mother country. Stone, brick, and slate were the principal mate- rials employed in building in England, because the area in forests was so small. At the end of the seventeenth century, there were only three million acres in woods and coppices in England,^ and in the early decades their extent was not much greater, a steady drain upon these resources being kept up in supplying fuel for iron and glass manu- facture. The use of wood in English houses, owing to its dearness, seems to have been practically confined to laths, beams, floors, stairways, and wainscoting. Every consideration of cheapness and convenience compelled the planter in Virginia to construct every part of his house, except the chimney, of wood, an exception being only made in the case of the chimney, because this part of the building would not endure permanently if constructed

outlay. [Colonial Entry Book, No. 82, pp. 172, 174 ; S'ainsbnry Abstmrts for 1683, p. 31, Va. State Library.] Some description of these brick churches can with more propriety be given in an account of the state of the Church in "Virginia in the seventeenth century.

1 Rogers' History of Agriculture and Prices in England, vol. V, p. 529.

VOL. II. — I,

146 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

only of mud and sticks. The nnsiglitliness of sucli mate- rials was doubtless another element of objection.

There are many indications that the planters who owned large estates were in possession of a great abundance of plank. John Smyth of York left fifteen hundred feet,i and John Andrews of Accomac eighteen hundred. ^ The estate of Henry Jenkins of Elizabeth City was indebted to Pascho Curie to the extent of four thousand and tw^enty- nine feet.^ In some cases, it was the consideration in the sale of land.^ An attachment against it in the hands of a debtor was a common process. Dressed timber was known by its width in inches. The feather-edged plank was in general use in building, and formed a valuable part of the estates of planters.^ On one occasion, one hundred and thirty feet of dressed timber were sold in York for ten shillings,^ and on another, two hundred feet were appraised at twelve shillings. In Elizabeth City County, several thousand feet were disposed of at the rate of three pounds sterling a thousand, this being the average price in this part of the Colony towards the end of the century."

During a long period, the colonist could only procure nails at a considerable expense because they shared the costliness of all articles manufactured of iron. So valu- able were they, indeed, that the smaller landowners, in deserting their homes with a view to making a settlement elsewhere on more fertile soil, were in the habit of burn-

1 Becords of York County, vol. 1694-1697, p. 419, Va. State Library.

2 Becords nf Accomac County, original vol. 1666-1670, p. 23.

3 Records of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1684-1699, p. 174, Va. State Library.

4 Becords of Henrico County, vol. 1688-1697, p. 385, Va. State Library.

5 Becords of York County, vol. 1687-1691, p. 66, Va. State Library.

6 Ibid., vol. 1690-1694, p. 268.

■^ Becords of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1684-1699, p. 181, Va. State Library.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 147

in Of their cabins when abandoned, in order to secure the nails by which the planks were held together, and so general did this habit become, that in 1644-45 it was pro- vided by law, as a means of destroying the motive for set- ting the houses on fire, that each planter, when he gave up his dwelling, should be allowed, at public expense, as many nails as two impartial men should calculate to be in the frame of the deserted residence-^ All these articles in use had been imported. Large quantities frequently formed a part of the estate of the landowner. Thus the in- ventory of the personalty of Francis Mathews, in 1675, showed him to have been in possession of seven thousand eight-penny, nine thousand six-penny, five thousand four- penny, and two thousand ten-penny nails. ^ John Carter of Lancaster left, as a part of his estate, over seven thou- sand eight-penny, twelve thousand two hundred and thirty- three ten-penny, and nearly five thousand twenty -penny nails. ^ Fitzhugh, in ordering nails from his merchant in London, would give directions that several thousand of different kinds should be sent to him at one time,*

It is quite probable that for a number of years after the foundation of Jamestown, neither plank nor nails entered into the construction of a majority of the houses in which the colonists lived. Undressed logs were doubtless the material principally in use. George Sandys, in a letter to a member of the Council in 1623, expressed the opinion that the only advantage which resulted from the massacre in the previous year was that it had compelled the planters to draw into narrower limits and to live more closel}' together, the continuation of which would inevitably lead

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 291.

2 Becords of York County, vol. 1671-1694, p. 130, Va. State Library.

3 Becords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1690-1709, p. 32. * Letters of William Fitzhugh, May 11, 1697.

148 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

them to build framed dwellings. ^ Wliitaker had already set the example. 2 Sandys probably anticipated that a concentration of the population would diminish the ex- pense of securing plank, not only by 23romoting the estab- lishment of saw-mills, but also by reducing the expenses of transportation. As it was, the plantations soon again became too widely dispersed to justify the erection in con- venient numbers of mills of this character, and it grew to be almost as expensive to procure finished plank as it was to obtain bricks. Governor Butler, who visited Jamestown and its vicinity not long after the massacre, declared in his pamphlet Virginia Unmasked, that the houses of the people were the "worst in the world," and that the most wretched cottages in England were equal, if not superior, in appearance and comfort, to the finest dwellings in the Colony.^ No doubt this statement was substantially cor- rect, although it was made in a sinister spirit. The houses were mean in the beginning, and in the damp climate of Virginia, easily fell into decay unless carefully repaired. The Governor and Council, replying to the strictures of Butler, while they acknowledged that the dwellings which had been erected had been built for use and not for orna- ment, asserted that those occupied by workingmen, which the great majority of the inhabitants professed themselves to be, excelled the homes of the same class in the rest of the English dominions. The houses in which persons of quality resided had many points of advantage over the cottages and cabins of the laborers, and no criticisms of importance could be justly passed upon them in the light of the surrounding circumstances.*

1 George Sandys to Samuel Wrote, Neill's Virginia Vetusta, p. 124.

2 Works of Capt. John Smith, p. 510.

3 Abstracts of Proceedings of the Virginia Companu of London, vol. II, p. 171.

* Abstracts of Proceedings of the Virginia Company of London, vol. II,

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 149

The framed liouse which Sandys was anxious for the planters to substitute for the log cabin was gradually in- troduced as the population increased. When Abraham Piersey died in 1632, he was the wealthiest resident of the Colony. In his will, he directed that his body should be interred in the garden in which his new framed house had been erected. This house was perhaps designed as his own residence,^ William Fitzhugh, a man of large means, occupied a dwelling into the construction of which it is probable that not a brick entered, Avith the exception of the chimneys and possibly the foundation. ^ Wlien Nicholas Hayward decided to establish one of his chil- dren in Virginia, he received a letter from Fitzhugh giving valuable information as to the course pursued by many of the planters in building. According to this writer, the most judicious plan to follow was to import carpenters and bricklayers from England who were bound by indenture to serve for a period of four or five years. In this length of time, they would be able to raise a substantial house without constructing the walls of brick, and also, by the performance of other tasks, to earn sufficient to meet the cost of the planks and nails and the additional materials, as well as to make good the outlay for their own food and clothing. Fitzhugh strongly advised against a large dwell- ing, and was doubtful even as to the wisdom of budding an English framed house of the ordinary size, the charges for skilled labor being excessively dear, although there

p. 178. Some of the residences in tlie Colony at this time had been erected at very considerable expense. In a petition offered to the King, in 1622, by Adam Dixon, he states that he and a companion had built a house at a cost of £100. A house erected by William Julian had caused an expenditure of £30. Abstracts of Proceedings of Virginia Company of London, vol. I, pp. 189, 190.

1 British State Papers, Colonial, vol. Ill, No. 5, T.

2 Letters of William Fitzhugh, Jan. 30, 1686-1(387.

150 ECONOMIC HISTOllY OF VIRGINIA

was no serious expense in obtaining timber. ^ He stated that in constructing his residence, he Avas compelled to pay out three times the amount which would have been required in the case of a house of the same proportions in London, where all the materials used had to be bought. In Virginia, it was necessary to allow three times the length of time that would have been taken to complete the same work in that city. The Fitzhugh dwelling, like so many of the houses in the Colony at this and in a later age, was doubtless in a measure the result of several additions at different periods as the wants of a growing family de- manded, a room being joined to this wing or to that as con- venience suggested. Many of the residences illustrated in the variety of their material the evolution through which so many of the planters' mansions had passed ; first the log house, then the framed, and finally the brick addition or the substitution of brick for the wood of which the central portion of the dwelling was made. It is an indication of how little attention was paid to the architectural effect of these additions that Bullock advised that the orig- inal residence should be built in such a manner that its extension in wings would not cause a defacement.^ The simplicity of the houses in which many persons of good position lived is shown in a reference of Fitzhugh to the residence erected by a brother of Hayward ; it was as devoid of architectural beauty as a barn, which it must have resembled exactly, as it is described by Fitzhugh as lacking both chimneys and partitions.^

1 Culpeper, writing in 1682, dwells upon the same fact. See Instruc- tions, 1681-1682. Culpeper's Reply to § 48, McDonald Papers, vol. VI, p. 147, Va. State Library.

2 Bullock's Virginia, 'p. 61. The references to the "New Room" in the inventories are very frequent.

3 Letters of William Fitzlmrjh, Jan. 30, 1686-1687. Fitzhugh probably intended to say that this house was lacking in substantial chimneys. It may have been in an unfinished state.

DOMESTIC ECOXOMY OF THE PLANTER 151

Unpretentious as most of tlie houses in the Colony were in the seventeenth century, it is found that there is not infrequent use in different records of the expression the " Great House," which was so familiar among the negroes in later times, when the planters had accumulated large wealth and exhausted much of it in erecting residences of fine proportions. When James Knott, in 1632, leased a part of the public lands laid off in Elizabeth City by the Company some years before its dissolution, he obtained the privilege of holding not only the fifty acres included in the temporary grant, but also the house standing upon the tract and " commonly called the Great House." ^ It is evident from this that the expression did not have its ori- gin with the slaves, but was probably transmitted from England. That it was in use, was no certain evidence that many large mansions were to be found in the Colony, since it was relative in its significance. There were also references to the planter's residence as the " Manor House."

The typical dwelling of Virginia in the seventeenth century — and innumerable examples of the same kind have survived to the present day — was a framed building of moderate size with a chimney at each end. The early records of the eastern counties show the manner in which these houses were erected, and the outlay their construc- tion entailed. Reference by way of illustration may be made to a few instances which have thus been preserved. In 1679, Major Thomas Chamberlayne, one of the most prominent citizens of Henrico, entered into an agreement with James Gates, a carpenter of the same county, by the terms of which. Gates was required to prepare the frame of a house that was to be forty feet in length and twenty

1 Va. Land Patents, vol. 1G23-1643, p. 133. The residence of Mr. Sparks in Lancaster is also described in the records of that county as the " Great House." See original vol. 1690-1709, pp. 19, 20.

152 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

in width. He was to put the different jjarts of this frame together on the spot selected as the site of the proposed dwelling, and then cover the sides with boards and place a roof on the top. There was to be no cellar, the house being supported by sills resting on the ground. A chim- ney was to be constructed at either end. The upper and lower floors were to be divided respectively into two rooms by wooden partitions. The joists and posts were to be squared by a line. In consideration of the satisfactory performance by Gates of the provisions of this agree- ment, Chamberlayne bound himself to pay twelve hundred pounds of tobacco in cask. The house was to be finished in seven months.^

In 1695, Robert Sharpe contracted to pay John Hud- lesy, both being citizens of Henrico, twenty-two hundred pounds of tobacco in consideration that Hudlesy would build for him a framed house, thirty feet long and twenty feet wide, having a chimney at each end. Sharpe was to furnish the boards and shingles, and Hudlesy the nails and timbers, the latter during the performance of the agreement being required to supply his own food.^

Robert Stevens of Middlesex bound himself to erect for Thomas Hill a house forty feet in length in consideration of the payment of nine pounds sterling. ^

Under the terms of a contract between the executors of William Pry or and Richard Bernard of York County, the latter in leasing the Pryor estate was required, in addition to paying the taxes, to build what was described as a sufficient dwelling-house, that is to say, a house

1 Records of Henrico County, vol. 1677-1G92, p. 88, Va. State Li- brary.

2 Ibid., vol. 1677-1699, orders Oct. 1, 1G9.3, Va. State Library.

^ Records of Middlesex County, original vol. 1G80-1694, p. 53 ; see also Ihid., original vol. 1673-1685, f. p. 17.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 153

forty feet in length and eighteen or twenty in breadth. i Christopher Branch of Henrico County, a planter in com- fortable circumstances, who died in the latter part of the seventeenth century, gave directions in his will that there should be erected for his son a residence twenty feet long and sixteen wide, and for his grandson a dwelling to be made up of four series of boards five feet from end to end. The house in which he himself lived was twenty feet in length and fifteen in width. ^ Richard Ward of Henrico left instructions that a dwelling twenty feet wide and thirty feet long should be built for his son. Five chim- neys were to be erected.^

It is quite probable that the residences of the ministers represented the average dimensions of the dwelling-houses in Virginia at this period of colonial history. In 1635, there was erected in one of the parishes of the Eastern Shore a wooden parsonage, forty feet in width, eighteen feet in depth, and nine feet in the valley. A chimney was raised at each end. An apartment was attached to the main structure on either side, one being used as a study, the other as a buttery.'*

The number of rooms in the dwelling-house of this century varied with the size of the structure ; thus the resi- dence of Governor Berkeley at Green Spring was divided into six apartments, while that of William Fitzhugh con- tained twelve or thirteen. The Stratton dwelling-house in Henrico had three chambers above and one below stairs, a hall, kitchen, and pantry. The kitchen was probably

1 Eecords of York County, vol, 1C38-1648, p. 318, Va. State Library.

2 Eecords of Henrico County, vol. 1077-1692, p. 209 ; Ihid., original vol. 1697-1704, pp. 192, 195.

3 Sometimes the specifications called for one inside and one outside chimney. Eecords of York County, vol. 1091-1701, p. 205, Va. State Library.

* Eecords of Accomac County, vol 10:32-1640, p. 43, Va. State Library.

154 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

detached. In the Osborne residence, the rooms on the lower floor are described as the "best," the " outward," and the "lodging;" on the upper floor, there were only two apartments, the "best room" and the "north room." The kitchen was under a different roof. The Farrar dwelling- house contained a hall, an inner and an outer chamber, and a shed. The dairy and kitchen were also referred to, but they were probably in separate buildings. ^

In some of the houses in York County, a hall or dining- room, a chamber and a kitchen, only were to be found. These dwellings either did not rise above one story or they spread out beyond the main structure. In others, the term "parlor" is substituted in the inventories for chamber in enumerating the suite of rooms. In others still, there were the new room, the inner room, the little chamber, or the little room opposite the stairs, the hall, the chamber over the parlor, the parlor, the shed, and the kitchen. In all of these cases, the kitchen was either attached to the main building or stood entirely by itself.

The apartments in the house of Colonel Thomas Lud- low, a planter of wealth, who lived about the middle of the century, consisted of an inner room, a small middle room, a chamber, hall, buttery, kitchen, milk-house, and store. Mathew Hubbard was also the owner of very valuable property. His home contained a parlor and hall, a hall and parlor chamber, a kitchen and buttery. Edward Lockey of the same county was a merchant who had acquired a considerable estate both by his own thrift and by his marriage with a widow who had received a fortune under the will of her first husband. His dwelling-house was probably as large as that of any man in the Colony in

1 Becords of Henrico County, Stratton, original vol. 1697-1704, p. 137 ; Osborne, vol. 1G88-1697, p. 351 ; Farrar, vol. 1082-1701, p. 9, Va. State Library.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 155

possession of the same means; it contained only seven apartments, the chamber over the hall, the small room situated in the rear of the chamber, the room over the chamber, which was probably of very small dimensions, as a bed and couch formed its only furniture, the hall, which was situated on the ground floor, the middle room, the porch chamber, and the kitchen. There was in addition a dairy. Edmund Cobbs of York, who was the owner of six negro slaves, forty-eight head of cattle, thirty-two sheep, fifteen head of hogs, three cart and three saddle horses, resided in a house containing a hall and kitchen on the lower floor and one room above stairs. ^

The division of rooms in the houses of Mrs. Elizabeth Digges and Nathaniel Bacon, Sr., of York, represents very probably the average number in the homes of the wealthiest members of the planting class in this county at the end of the century. The different names given to many of these apartments recall a contemporaneous custom of English housekeepers Avhich has descended to the latest generation of Virginians. There were in the residence of Mrs. Digges, the yellow room, the red room, and the hall parlor ; there was a large room opposite the yellow room, which was probably the chamber of the master and the mistress, while back of this, a small room was situated. Above the floor on which these apartments were found, there was a garret with a room attached, while below there was a cellar. ^

The residence of Nathaniel Bacon, Sr., contained the old and the new hall, an inner room over the hall, an outer room, an upper chamber, the chamber of Mrs. Bacon and a cham- ber above it, a kitchen, dairy, and storeroom. Colonel

1 Becords of York County, Ludlow, vol. 1657-1662, p. 275 ; Hubbard, vol. 1604-1672, p. 464 ; Cobbs, vol. 1690-1694, p. 333, Va. State Library.

2 Ibid., vol. 1690-1094, p. 213, Va. State Library.

156 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

Bacon was one of the largest i^roperty holders in Virginia.^ Rosegill in ^Middlesex, the home of Ralph Wormeley, Pres- ident of the Council and Secretary of the Colony, a man whose personal estate was appraised at nearly three thou- sand pounds sterling, equal in value to sixty thousand dollars, contained a parlor with a chamber overhead, a chamber with a second chamber above it, an old and new nursery, the lady's chamber with a chamber overliead, an entry, two closets, and a storeroom. Apparently detached from the house, there were a kitchen and dairy, two stories in height. ^

Robert Beverley, who died in 1687, was a planter of still more valuable estate, but his residence was of much less pretension in size and appointments. Its ai3artments included the chamber in which Major Beverley slept, a second chamber overhead, a porch and hall chamber, a dairy and kitchen and the overseer's room. Richard Willis of Middlesex was also a man of wealth. His house, which had received several additions from time to time, contained eight rooms and one closet, with a kitchen and dairy attached. There were six rooms, a kitchen, and two closets in the residence of Corbin Grithn of the same county.^

The residence of William Fauntleroy of Rappahannock, one of the principal landowners in that part of Virginia, contained a hall chamber with a second chamber overhead, a porch chamber, a hall, closet, and kitchen. * Thomas Willoughby, a wealthy planter of Lower Norfolk County,

1 Becords of York County, vol. 1694-1697, p. 261, Va. State Library.

2 Becords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1698-1713, p. 113 ; see also William and Mary Quarterly, January, 1894, p. 170.

3 Becords of Middlesex County, Beverley inventory on file, 1687 ; Willis, original vol. 1698-1718, p. 68 ; Griffin, original vol. 1698-1713, p. 134.

* Becords of Bappahannock County, vol. 1677-1682, p. 108, Va. State Library.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 157

resided in a house which was made up of a hall and parlor, a porch chamber, two additional chambers known respec- tively as the green and the red, over which there were two garrets, a chamber which Mrs. Willoughby used and which had a loft above it, a kitchen, meal-room, and cellar, a dairy, quartering-room, and shed. The dw^elling of Adam Thoroughgood, who died in 1686, had fewer apartments. They included three chambers, a hall and parlor, a kitchen and cellar. Apparently, it was of one story. The house of Cornelius Lloyd, whose personal estate was valued at 131,044 pounds of tobacco, con- tained a chamber and hall, a kitchen, with a loft and a dairy. The residence of Adam Keeling was distinguished for seven rooms, including two sheds, a kitchen, and a buttery. In the dwelling of Captain John Sibsey, there were, besides a quartering-room and dairy, a parlor hall and chamber. The home of Francis Emperor contained three rooms in addition to a shed, dairy, and kitchen. These planters were the leading citizens of Lower Nor- folk County. 1

In the house of Southey Littleton of Accomac there were a parlor chamber, a porch chamber, a hall chamber, a hall, two garrets, a little room over the kitchen, the kitchen and the dairy.^ The residence of Argoll Yeardley of Northampton contained a hall chamber, a hall, a parlor chamber, two small chambers next to the parlor, with a dairy and kitchen, probably detached. ^

The partitions of the plantation dwelling-house w^ere

1 Eecords of Lower Norfolk County, Willoughby, original vol. 1666- 1675, p. 125 ; Thoroughgood, original vol. 1675-1686, p. 223 ; Lloyd, original vol. 1651-1656, f. p. 168 ; Keeling, original vol. 1675-1686, f . p. 168 ; Sibsey, original vol. 1651-1656, f. p. 5-4 ; Emperor, original vol. 1656- 1666, p. 346.

'^ Eecords of Accomac County, original vol. 1676-1690, p. 293c

2 Mecords of Northampton County, original vol. 1654-1655, f. p. 117.

158 ECONOMIC HISTOKY OF VIRGINIA

first covered with a thick Layer of tenacious mud and then whitewashed.! Lime was made in large quantities with ease, on account of the masses of oyster shells to be found in the soil or in the rivers. ^ Bullock remarked on the excellence of this material in Virginia, its suj^eriority to the like in use in the mother country being due to the fact that English lime was manufactured from chalk and was in consequence thin and less enduring. ^ In some cases, the walls were scaled with riven boards and the partitions lined with wainscoting. This was observed in the house of Colonel Daniel Parke of York.* The room of the Secre- tary of State at Jamestown was ceiled with sawn boards which had been planed until they were perfectly smooth.^ The roofing of the houses was made of shingle, which was a square oblong piece of cypress or pine wood. There was some attempt to manufacture tile, but when used, it proved to be defective.^ In the Cohabitation Act of 1662, it was provided that the roofs of the brick houses

1 Leah and Rachel, p. 18, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III.

2 New Description of Virginia, p. 7, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. II. See also Glover, in Pliilo. Trans. Boyal Soc, 1676-1678, vol. XI-XII, p. 635.

3 Bullock's Virginia, p. 3.

4 4t Whereas Mr. Robert Whitehaire, attorney of Mr. Richard, execuf of Mr. Robert Bourne, arrested to this court, Mr. Henry White concern- ing the furnishing and completing of his dwelling-house, as the house of Capt. Daniel Parke then was, and it being referred to the oath of the said "White to declare what he was to doe thereto, and he on oath declares that he was to scale the upper rooms with riven boards, to make a wainscot partition between the two rooms and a wainscot ... on the stair head and to put banisters into the stairs, for which said work when finished, the said Bourne was to pay him 666 lbs. of tobacco at Aid. per lb." Beconls of York County, vol. 1664-1672, p. 71, Va. State Library.

5 Order of Governor and Council, Oct. 8, 1685, McDonald Papers, vol. VII, p. 386, Va. State Library.

•5 New Description of Virginia, p. 7, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. II ; Beverley's History of Virginia, p. 235.

DOMESTIC ECOXO.MY OF THE PLANTER 159

to be erected at Jamestown should be covered with this material ; ^ this constituted probably the greater quantity in Virginia during the latter part of the century, although it was said of the storm which occurred in 168-1 that a large proportion of the damage which it inflicted consisted in the destruction of the tile roofs by the hail. No slate seems to have been employed, although, as the line of settle- ments spread, quarries of this formation were discovered. The cost of its transportation would have excluded it, even if the violent winds of Virginia had not rendered its use inadvisable. Cypress shingles were not only remarkable for the lengtli of time during which they would last in a state of absolute exposure to every sort of weather, but they could be procured at a comparatively small expense, a consideration of supreme importance. The demand for this roofing was always steady. Among the fines imposed upon some of the persons implicated in the insurrection of Bacon was one of ten thousand shingles. ^

The windows of the houses were doubtless in many cases merely sliding panels; in all homes of any pretension, however, glass panes were in use.^ In 1684, Colonel Byrd transmitted an order to his London merchant to send him four hundred feet of glass with drawn lead and solder in proportion, but a part of this was probably designed for sale in the Colony.* Fitzhugh gave similar instructions

1 Hening's Statutes^ vol. II, p. 172. The order was "slate or tile."

2 Petition of John Johnson, British State Papers, Colonial Papers; Sninshury Abstracts for 1677, p. 6, Va. State Library.

3 Leah and Eachel, p. 18, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III. " In the difference between Mr. Thomas Ballard, Jr., assignee of Col. Thomas Ballard and Jeremiah Wing, it is ordered that the said Wing doth forth- with perform and finish the glazing work he was to do, otherwise exe- cution for forty shillings to issue against him." Becords of York County, vol. 1G84-1687, p. 157, Va. State Library. See also Becords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1651-165(5, f. p. 1.

* Letters of William Byrd, June 21, 1684.

IGO ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

to his correspondent in England. Boxes of this material formed not infrequently a portion of the estate of deceased planters.^ In the county levies, provision was made for the purchase of glass for the court-houses, and glaziers were paid at the rate of fifty pounds of tobacco to put it in place. 2 Some of these mechanics were so prosperous that they were able to acquire large tracts of land by patent. There are references in the inventories to cross garnets for windows. In a climate like that of Virginia, in which hail-storms and tempests arose so suddenly and prevailed with such violence, it was necessary to protect the glass panes with strong shutters; these shutters and the body of the house were in many instances allowed to remain unpainted, but this was not the case in general. ^ The example of Fitzhugh was doubtless followed by every other planter in the enjoyment of easy circumstances ; on one occasion alone he is found importing a large quantity of colors, with walnut and linseed oil, brushes, and half a dozen suits of the three-quarter cloth in which the house painters of this age pursued their trade.

The surroundings of the planter's residence were plain and simple. The yard, as it was called, consisted of open ground, overshadowed here and there by trees. In the immediate vicinity of the house was situated the garden, devoted partly to vegetables and partly to flowers, thyme, marjoram, and phlox being as abundant there as in England. Many of the flowers and shrubs had only recently been

1 Francis Mathews' personal estate included 37 feet of glass (liecords of York County, vol. 1671-1694, p. 130, Va. State Library), and John Carter's, one box, containing 144 feet of the same material {Becords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1690-1709, p. 23).

2 Becords of Henrico Corinty, vol. 1677-1692, p. 470, Va. State Library.

3 There is an entry in Becords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1690- 1709, pp. 19, 20, in which it is stated that Edward Floyd painted the windows of the Sparks " Great House " with white lead.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 161

brought from the mother country. Byrd is discovered in 1681 writing to his brother in England, and thanking him for the gooseberry and currant buslies which had just been received; in the same year, he expresses to a second cor- respondent his appreciation of a gift of seeds and roots, wluch had been phmted and had safely flowered. ^ The summer-houses, arbors, and grottoes, which Beverley de- clares were to be found near the residences were doubt- less generally situated in the garden, and were erected to afford a cool place of retreat in the warmest hours of the summer day; the garden itself was always protected by a paling to keep out the hogs and cattle which were permitted to wander without restraint. In the immediate vicinity of the dwellings of the wealthy landowners, there were as a rule grouped the dove-cot, stable, barn, henhouse, cabins for the servants, kitchen, and milk-house,^ the object of this in the last instances being to remove from the man- sion the operations of cooking, washing, and dairying. In many yards, a tall pole with a toy house at the top was erected, in which the bee martin might build its nest, this bird bravely attacking the hawk and crow, and thus serv- ing as a guardian of the poultry. ^ In soijie cases, wells were dug as a means of procuring drinking water, but the natural springs were so numerous that the use of the former was comparatively rare.^ In the early history of the Col-

1 Letters of William Byrd, May 21, 1684; Ibid, May 20, 1684. The seeds and roots were the iris, crocus, tulip, and anemone. Flower-pots are sometimes included in the inventories of personal estates. See, for instance, Secords of Henrico County, vol. 1077-1692, p. 284, Va. State Library.

- Letters of William Fitzhugh, April 22, 1686; Beverley's History of Virginia, p. 235.

3 Such a pole stood in the yard surrounding the house of Colonel Nathaniel Bacon, Sr.

4 " They have pure and wholesome water which they fetch wholly from springs, whereof the country is so full that there is not a house but hath

VOL. II. M

162 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

ony, when there was a constant prospect of an assault by the Indians, the law required that the ground immediately adjacent to every house should be palisaded. This provi- sion was only temporary. ^ At a later period, many of the X)lanters were in the habit of keeping the area about their dwellings enclosed by a "stout fence. Fitzhugh selected locust for this purpose, the fibre of this tree being remark- able for its endurance. 2 The same wood was for a similar reason employed by other planters.

Before entering into a description of the different con- tents of the plantation house and its out-buildings in the seventeenth century, it will be interesting to consider very briefly what several of the earliest writers who were fa- miliar with the Colony thought necessary that the person taking up his residence there should import in the way of clothing and utensils. The Company advised that in ad- dition to bringing with him certain articles of apparel to which reference will be made hereafter, the emigrant should carry over a pair of canvas sheets, seven ells of fine and five ells of coarse canvas, and one coarse rug ; for kitchen utensils, one iron pot, one kettle, a spit, one large frying-pan, two skillets, several platters, dishes, and wooden spoons.^ Williams recommended, as we have already seen, that the emigrant should bring with him an iron pot, a gridiron, a large and a small kettle, skillets, frying-pans, dishes, platters, spoons, and knives.* The agent in London to whom Sir Edward Verney wrote when he had decided to send his son to Virginia, had practical knowledge as to the household goods that would be re- one nigh the door." Glover, in Fhilo. Trans. lioyal Soc, 1676-1678, vol. XI-XII, pp. 635, 636.

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 127.

2 Letters of William FitzJmgk, April 22, 1686.

3 Works of Capt. John Smith, pp. 607-609.

* Virginia Richly Valued, p. 10, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 163

quired by an emigrant to the Colony ; lie restricted the articles which would be needed to a feather-bed, bolster, and rug, a pair of blankets and three pairs of sheets. ^

In examining the inventories of the seventeenth cen- tury, it is soon discovered that the overwhelming majority of planters who left personal estates were possessed of a far larger quantity of household goods than were found in these meagre enumerations. The English descent of the householders was shown in every particular of their residences. I shall begin with a description of the furni- ture and take the bedroom as a starting-point. The vari- ety of beds in the possession of the planters was the same as in English homes of the same period ; there were the large bed, the sea-bed,^ the flock-bed, and the trundle-bed, which was rolled under the large bed during the day. The bedtick was generally made of canvas and Avas stuffed with the feathers of wild or domestic fowls, or with hair or straw.^ One of the materials most commonly employed for this purpose in the homes of the smaller planters was the flower of a plant that was found in all the marshes and ponds of the Colony and which is still known as the cat-tail. This stuff had the softness of feathers. It was entirely a local expedient. The large bed of the chamber was surrounded by curtains which were upheld by a rod, some of these hangings being red, some white, and some green. The material of which they were made consisted of prints, linsey-woolsey, or kidder-

^ Verney Papers, Camden Society Publications ; Neill's Virginia Garo- loriun, pp. 109-111.

2 Among the orders of court recorded in York County is tlie following: "John Thomas ordered to pay Mathew Page a good sea-bed." Vol. 1G57-1662, p. 176, Va. State Library.

3 Colonel Norwood mentions that when he arrived at the house of Jenkin Price in Accomac, he lay down on a bed of fresh straw. Nor- wood's Voyage to Virginia, p. 48, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. Ill,

164 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

minster. The canopy does not appear to have been in common use. Some of the beds had mosquito nets.^ The valances, which were bands of cloth suspended from the sides of the bed to the floor, were made of linsey- woolsey; drugget, a species of cloth of French production containing gold and silver threads; or serge, a scarlet cloth, which, like all the cloths of this period which were dyed this color, was dear in price ; or kidderminster, flowered green and white. The pillows and pillow-biers were manufactured of white linen or canvas, and the former were stuffed with feathers. The sheets were of oznaburg, can- vas, brown or white hoUand. The most common blanket was known as the dufheld. The outer covering consisted either of a coverlet, which was green or white in color, or a quilt of mixed hues. Sometimes it was of leather. ^ The rugs were made of worsted yarn or cotton, and were white, red, green, or blue in color. In winter, the warm- ing-pan was used as a means of taking the chill from the sheets, this household article being manufactured of brass. The couch, which was the forerunner of the sofa, served the purpose both of a bed and a reclining seat ; it seems to have been made of different materials, references being found to wainscot, hide, tanned leather, embroidered Russian leather, and Turkey-worked couches. The last formed a part of the furniture in the houses of the wealth- iest planters.

Prominent in the chamber were the trunk and the chest. Of the former, there were the plain leather, the

^ References to mosquito cloth in the inventories are very numerous. Among the articles of personal property owned by Thomas Batte at his death were fourteen yards of this cloth. Becords of Henrico County, vol. 1688-1697, p. 2.34, Va. State Library.

2 Becords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1690-1709, p. 21, contains a reference to a leather coverlet.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OP THE PLANTER 166

gilt leather, the caljinet, and the sealskin. ^ The chests were the principal receptacles of the most costly articles of clothing, many doubtless being highly ornamented. In them were placed the linen not in use, the garments of the past season, the fine dresses which were brought out only on special occasions, trinkets of value, and in some in- stances, plate. The substitute for the modern bureau was the case of drawers with a looking-glass fixed to its top. These glasses were of various sizes. There was also the detached looking-glass, which Avas often inserted in an olive wood frame. The chairs were made after several different fashions. There were the rush chair, the name derived from the material of which the seat was woven ; the calfskin chair, which was doubtless the plainest in appearance ; the Russian leather chair and the Turkey- worked chair. The Russian leather chair, the chair of the most costly manufacture, was found in all the dwellings in which there was any pretension to an unusual degree of comfort. In some houses, as many as two dozen were observed. The Turkey- worked chair was one the seat of which was covered with cloth highly ornamented with embroidered figures. In addition to these, there was the large wicker chair,^ the small wooden chair, with a bottom woven of white oak strips, and the cane chair, the plain stool, and the joint stool.

The fireplace was guarded by fenders of iron or tin„ On the hearth stood andirons of brass or iron, those of the latter material not infrequently weighing as much as fifty-six pounds. They often represented dogs with brass

1 Inventory of Jonathan Newell included an oyster-shell trunk. Records of York County, vol. 1G75-1685, p. 146, Va. State Library.

2 A wicker chair formed part of the household property of Nathaniel Bacon, Sr. Becords of York County, vol. 1G91-16'J7, p. 201, Va. State Library.

166 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

heads. There were shovels and tongs of iron, and doubt- less, in many cases, of brass. In some of the houses, the backs of the chimneys were of the former metal. i A large chafing-dish was used at times for heating the chamber. The floor was frequently protected by carpets, some of which were of stout leather, some of stuffs highly figured and colored. ^ There were printed linens for the windows and printed cottons for the chimneys. In some of the houses, the walls of the chambers were hung with tapestry. ^ There were screens, escritoires, and clocks of various and often of costly patterns.^ There were combs of horn and ivory for the arrangement of the hair. The basin and ewer were of pewter. The soap used in washing was either imported or the product of domestic manufacture. The inventories contain many references to "Virginia soft soap."

The respective value of the various articles in the numerous chambers did not differ in a very striking degree. In this respect, the appraisements of the con- tents of the rooms in the residence of Thomas Stratton of Henrico, a planter whose estate was fairly representa- tive, was probably not exceptional ; the furniture in one chamber above stairs was set down as worth thirty-two pounds sterling ; in another, thirty-seven ; that in the principal apartment on the ground floor, thirty-nine.^ The furniture in the hall of the Yates residence in Lower Norfolk was entered at two thousand three hundred and

1 Letters of William Fitzhugh, June 28, 1684 ; Records of Lower Nor- folk County, original vol. 1646-1G51, f. p. 98.

2 Records of Rappahannock County, vol. 1677-1682, p. 106, Va. State Library. The term "carpet" was sometimes applied to table coverings.

3 Letters of William Fitzhugh, April 22, 1686.

* There is a reference to a clock in Records of York Gou)it>i, vol. 1657- 1662, p. 247, Va. State Library.

° Records of Henrico Count//, original vol. 1697-1704, p. 137.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 167

fifty-three pounds of tobacco ; in the buttery, at a thou- sand and sixty-four ; in the chamber, at six hundred and fifty ; and in the closet, at ninety -six. This was near the middle of the century, when that commodity had begun to maintain a general average of about two pence a pound. ^ Corbin Griihn, a planter of Middlesex who was in posses- sion of a large amount of property, bequeathed to his widow one hundred pounds sterling, with which to fur- nish presumably her chamber. ^

The articles in use in the hall or dining-room, which was sometimes called the " great room," were comparatively few ; among them were several varieties of tables, the most common of which were the short and the long framed, with benches or forms in proportion to their lengths, for seats. In addition, there were the folding, the falling, the Spanish, the Dutch oval, and the sideboard table. Some of these pieces of furniture were made of l)lack walnut and some of cedar. The chairs found in this apartment were of the same character as those be- longing to the chamber. An ordinary feature of this room Avas the cupboard, in which the plates and dishes were kept. The tablecloths were manufactured of cotton, oznaburg, dowlas, hoUand and damask, the damask table- cloth being of the finest texture, and therefore probably only used on special occasions. Among the articles included in the inventory of Mrs. Elizabeth Digges of York, presented in court in 1699,^ were nine table- cloths of this material. The quantity of table linen in English and Virginian homes of the seventeenth century

1 Becords of Loioer Norfolk County, original vol. 1646-1651, f. p. 35.

2 Becords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1698-1713, p. 108. The chamber furniture of Mrs. William Basset was valued at twenty pounds sterling. Becords of General Court, p. 121.

3 Becords of York County, vol. 1690-1604, p. 214, Va. State Library.

168 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

is one of the most striking features of the domestic economy of that age ; it was true of the tablecloths ; it was still more true of the table napkins, the need for which was greater in those times than in the present on account of the rarity of the fork. The napkin was made of damask, canvas, lockram, oznaburg, holland, dowlas, diaper, huckaback, and Virginian cloth. That of canvas was of the most inferior texture. Costly as the purchase of damask napkins must have been, it is found that Mrs. Elizabeth Digges left thirty-six of this material. Napkins of the finest quality were often worked in figures. The press in which these articles were stored was one of the most familiar pieces of furniture in the homes of the planters of the seventeenth century. ^

The plates in use were made, some of earthen ware, some of wooden, but the greatest number were of pewter. Pewter plates had the advantage not only of cheapness but also of durability, in which respect they were superior to the earthen and wooden. References are also found to trenchers, which were pieces of board. ^ There were certain varieties of plates used for special purposes, as the pie-plate and the fish-plate. Many had been finely painted.^ The dishes also were generally made of pewter, some weigh- ing as much as five pounds apiece, and being either deep or broad. Besides the ordinary dish, there was the chafing, the butter, and the magazine dish. There are few references to the fork in the inventories of the seventeenth century;

1 The furniture in the dining-roo::i of Robert Beverley, Sr., one of the •wealthiest men in the Colony, consisted of an oval and a folding table, a small table and a leather couch, two chests, a chest of drawers and fifteen Eussian leather chairs, the whole valued at £9 9s. See inventory on file among Becords of Middlesex County. The contents of the whole house were appraised at £207 19s. Qhd.

2 Rogers' History of Agriculture and Prices in England, vol. V, p. 685.

3 Becords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1098-1713, p. 71.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 169

this article, not being generally found on Englisli tables at this time, was not likely to enter into the domestic economy of the English colonist. Richard Hobbs, of Rappahannock, who died about 1677, owned a single fork.i John Foison of Henrico was in possession of one of tortoise-shell.'^ There are included in tlie personal estate of Robert Dudley of Middlesex, which was entered in court about 1700, a number of horn forks. James Blaise of the same county owned forks valued at two shillings. Corbin Griffin was also in possession of a few pieces of cutlery of this kind.^ The knives in use were the case knife, which came in packages of a dozen, and the "slope point." The ordinary composition of the spoons was tin, pewter, or alchemy, the alchemy spoon appearing to be as common as the pewter. William Major of York County, as shown in the inventory of his personal estate, owned three dozen spoons manufactured of this material.* The steel spoon was not unknown. The salt-cellar was made of pewter, agate, or earthenware. There were in addition pewter or earthen porringers, sugar-pots, castors, custard- cups, bottle cruets, square glass and stone bottles, j^ewter bowls, and earthen jugs. There were for purposes of drinking a variety of receptacles, such as the tumbler, the mug, the cup, the flagon, the tankard, and the beaker. The cups were known by a number of names, such as the lignum vitcG, the syllabub, the sack, and the dram. The horn cup is sometimes referred to, but pewter was the material of which these utensils were generally made; there were few houses in which the raw metal was not

1 Hecords of Bappahannock County, vol. 1G77-1682, p. 11, Va. State Library.

2 Eecords of Henrico County , vol. 1088-1097, p. 403, Va. State Library.

3 Becords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1098-1713, pp. 100, 112, 133.

^ Becords of York County, vol. 1G77-1084, p. 48, Va. State Library.

170 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIKGINIA

kept on hand in considerable quantities, to be consumed cliiefiy, however, in repairs.

A ware appearing on the table in the service of the meals less commonly than pewter or alchemy, but still not infrequently, was silver; plates and dishes were rarely found of this metal in the Colony, but it entered very often into the composition of the cups, tumblers, tankards, porringers, and spoons. The author of Leah and Rachel, Avriting about the middle of the century, remarked upon the fact that there was a good store of silver in many of the planters' homes. ^ This had either been inherited from English relations or been purchased in Eiigland. The instance of Margaret Cheesman, of Bermondsea, was not exceptional; in 1679, this lady is stated to have bequeathed a great silver beaker and tankard with other plate to the children of Lemuel Mason, who resided in Virginia. ^ The far greater quantity in the Colony was doubtless bought in the mother country, like other articles in house- hold use. Byrd, writing to his merchant in London in 1681, instructs him to send to him, "two new-fashioned silver mugs, one to contain half a pint, the other one- quarter of a pint."^ Fitzhugh purchased silver plate from time to time upon the principle that it was a form of property which would never lose its value, and, therefore, the parent was fortunate who could transmit much of it to his children as a part of his estate. In 1687, he directed Hayward to invest certain bills of exchange which stood to his credit in London in a pair of nuddle-sized silver candlesticks, a pair of snuffers, and a snuff-dish, and half a dozen trencher salts, the remainder to be expended in a

1 Leah and Rachel, p. 16, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. ITI.

2 JVew England Historical and Genealogical Begister, April, 1093, p. '250.

3 Letters of William Bijrd, May 20, 1084.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 171

handsome silver basin. In a letter to the same correspondent in 1G89, he ordered to be sent him two silver dishes weigh- ing fifty ounces apiece, and two, seventy ounces, a set of castors for sugar, pepper, and mustard, to weigh about twenty-four or twenty-six ounces, a basin, between forty and forty-five ounces, a salver and a pair of candlesticks about thirty ounces apiece, a ladle about ten ounces, and a case containing a dozen silver-hafted knives and a dozen silver-hafted forks. In 1698, he purchased in England two silver dishes of eighty or ninety ounces apiece, one dozen ordinary and two silver bread plates, one large pair of silver candlesticks and one pair of silver snuffers with a stand. 1

The inventories show that many planters in moderate circumstances were in possession of a considerable quan- tity of silver plate. Among the items of the Farrar per- sonalty there was one silver tankard, one silver beaker, one silver tumbler, three silver cups, two small silver salt- cellars, and ten silver spoons. In the Davis personalty, there were twelve silver spoons; in the Milner, a small silver tumbler, a sack, and three dram-cups. The Crews estate included plate valued at eleven pounds sterling. Silver tankards, spoons, and other varieties of dining service formed a part of the Isham estate. Richard Ward left to his children at his death twenty-seven silver spoons, one silver bowl, one silver dram-cup, two silver mugs, one silver tankard, and several silver salt-cellars.^ Martin Elam bequeathed a silver tankard, two cups, and ten spoons. The owners of this plate were prominent landowners of Henrico County.

i Letters of William Fitzhngh, July 18, 1687 ; July 21, 1698.

2 Becords of Henrico Corinty, vol. 1677-10*12 ; Farrar, pp. 267, 268 ; Davis, p. 284 ; jMilner, p. 280 ; Crews, p. 370 ; Isham, p. 302 ; Ward, p. 221.

172 ECONOMIC HISTORY OP VIRGINIA

The York records disclose that there Avere an equal number of planters in that county who were in possession of silverware representing the same varieties. Thus the Hunt estate included a silver currel, one sack and one dram cup;i the Croshaw personalty, a silver sack-cup, a silver tankard of the largest size, valued at four pounds sterling, perhaps equal in purchasing power to an hundred dollars in our modern currency, and tAventy-four silver spoons. 2 Mrs. Elizabeth Digges bequeathed two hundred and sixty-one ounces of silver plate. Robert Booth left twelve silver spoons, one salt-cellar, and one silver tum- bler. ^ In the estate of Richard Stock, there were thirteen silver spoons.^ The silver plate owned by Mathew Hub- bard was appraised at five pounds sterling,^ while the pro- portion in the personalty of the Eubank estate was esti- mated at two pounds.^ Joseph Croshaw bequeathed three silver spoons and three silver sack-cups to his wife, and one silver beaker, one silver caudle-cup, and two dram- cups of the same metal to one of his sons.^ The estate of William White included six silver spoons, a silver wine- cup, and three dram-cups, one large silver tankard and one sugar-dish ; ^ the estate of Quintillian Gutherick of Elizabeth City, a silver salt-cellar, a silver cup, a silver punch-bowl, and four silver spoons. Thomas Wythe of the same county left three silver tankards, a silver cup, and seven silver spoons.^

The personalty of William Kendall of Northampton included, in silver plate, twenty-seven spoons, four salt-

1 Becords of York Couuti/, vol. 1675-1684, p. 100, Va. State Library.

2 Ibid., p. .33. This was Richard Croshaw.

3 Ibid., vol. 1690-1694, p. 130. 6 j^ia., vol. 1684-1687, p. 255. * Ibid., vol. 1664-1672, p. 5.32. "^ Ibid., vol. 1664-1672, p. 256. 5 Ibid., p. 472. 8 jj)f,i^ vol. 1657-1662, p. 1"2.

. 9 Elizabeth City Cminty Becords, vol. 1684-1099, pp. 35, 100, Ya. State Library.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 173

cellars, two sugar-dislies, a porringer, a tankard, two dram cups, two punch and one caudle, and a pair of snuffers. ^ Henry Spratt of Lower Norfolk possessed, in the form of silverware, three plates, one tankard, one salt-cellar, a beaker, three caudle, three dram, and seven sack cups, two porringers, and fourteen spoons. Thomas Sibse}* of the same county was the owner in silver of two beer- bowls, two wine-cups, a tankard, a beaker, twenty-four spoons, and four salt-cellars. The silver pieces belonging to Mrs. Sarah Willoughby were still more valuable; they were a large sugar basin, one large and three small salt- cellars, twenty-four spoons, two beer-bowls and one claret, a small tankard, a caudle and a dram cup, and a small por- ringer.^ The silver owned by Robert Beverley of Middle- sex were two tankards, one beaker, six cups, a j)orringer, a sugar-box, three trencher salts, one large salt-cellar, and seventeen spoons, amounting in value to thirty-one pounds sterling.^ Corbin Griffin of the same county jiossessed one hundred and sixty-six ounces of silver plate.* Mrs. Rebecca Travers of Rappahannock owned in silver, one large salt-cellar, six trencher salts, one sugar-dish, eigh- teen spoons, a bottle, a snuff-dish with snuffers, a bowl, a tankard, a tumbler, two sack-cups and a dram-cup.^

In bequeathing their personalty, the testators were gen- erally careful to apportion the silver plate equally among their heirs. This seems to liave been in a marked de- gree the case in the disposition of spoons. The example

1 Becords of Nortlmmptnn County, original vol. 1689-1698, p. -500.

2 Becords of Lower Norfolk County, Spratt, original vol. 1686-1695, f. p. 95 ; Sibsey, original vol. 1651-1656, f. p. 54 ; Willoughby, original vol. 1666-1675, p. 170.

3 See Beverley's inventory on file in Middlesex County.

* Becords of Middlesex Ccmnty, original vol. 1698-1713, p. lo5. 5 Becords of Bappahannock County, vol. 1677-1682, p. 289, Va. State Library,

174 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

of Richard Ward in this respect was the one commonly followed ; in making a division of his silver plate, he left nine spoons to each of his three children, consisting of two sons and a daughter. The value attached by the owners to their silver service was illustrated in the case of Colonel Richard Lee, who took the trouble, on the occasion of a visit to England in the time of the Pro- tectorate, to carry over his plate with a view to clianging its fashion. The silver service of every person who was entitled to a coat of arms was engraved with his device. ^

There is reason to think that few paintings adorned the walls of the chambers, halls, and parlors of the resi- dences in that age. They were not entirely absent, how- ever, from the homes of the most prosperous planters. Colonel Thomas Ludlow owned a portrait of Richardson, an English Judge. ^ In one of the rooms of his house, Joseph Croshaw of York had hung five pictures, whether portraits or landscapes it is impossible to discover from the inventory of his estate.^ There was an equal number in the hall of Lieutenant Thomas Foote. The paintings in the parlor of Mrs. Elizabeth Digges could not have been of a high degree of merit, as they were appraised at five shillings only, there being in addition five of a small size in her garret. Those in the possession of John Smythe of York were also valued at the same amount.

1 See a reference to tlie coat of arms of Colonel Richard Lee, engraved on his plate, in Sainsbury's Calendar of State Fapers, Colonial, vol. 1574- 16G0, p. 430.

2 Records of York County, vol. 1657-1662, p. 275, Va. State Lil^rary.

3 Records of York County, Croshaw, vol. 1664-1672, p. 257 ; Foote, Ibid., p. 265; Smythe, vol. 1687-1691, p. 143, Va. State Library. See, also, reference in same volume, p. 379, to the " old pictures " of Mrs. Eow- land Jones. The inventory of James Archer included a " parcell of pictures." Vol. 1694-1697, p. 429, Va. State Library. There is a refer- ence to portraits in the vrill of William Fitzhugh, Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. II, p. 276.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 175

Among the articles to be found in the rooms of the planter's residence were musical instruments, the most common of which was the virginal, but the hand lyre was not unknown. The cornet was also in use, and like- wise both the small and the large fiddle, the violin, the recorder, the flute, and the hautboy. ^

The utensils of the kitchen were made of brass, tin, pewter, wood, or clay. In the homes of the most affluent planters, there was probably an occasional boiler of copper and brass, imbedded in brick and mortar, and heated from beneath. This was a common feature of the English kitchens of that age. A boiler of this kind was often used in brewing. The principal utensil for boiling was the great iron pot which was hung on moving iron racks firmly attached to the chimney-piece ; in summer, Avhen a large part of the cooking was done out of doors, it was swung to a pole supported by posts and a fire lighted under it. Doubtless, the food of all the servants and slaves on each estate was prepared in a single mess in this utensil. These pots weighed in general about forty pounds, but in many cases they exceeded that figure. In addition, there were brass, tin, and copper kettles, some holding as much as fifteen gallons. There were iron spits for roasting, and iron and brass ladles for pouring the gravy over the flesh as it was cooking, and the dripping- pan for catching the gravy as it fell. There were grid- irons for broiling, iron and brass skillets for baking, and

1 See, for these different instruments, Becords of York County, vol. 1GG4-1672, pp. 77, 532 ; vol. 1G84-1687, p. 341, Va. State Library ; Becords nf Lancaster County, original vol. 1690-1709, p. 31 ; Becords of Loicer JVurfolk County, original vol. 1695-1703, f. p. 137. The items in the inventory of Judith Parker included one recorder, two flutes, and one hautboy. Becords of Surry County, vol. 1671-1684, p. 376, Va. State Library. Josiah Moody owned two violins. Becords of York County, vol. 1687-1691, p, 42, Va, State Library.

ItQ ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIKGINIA

pans for frying meats. There were brass chafing-dishes, skimmers, and saucepans, and pans of tin and earthen- ware for the reception of raw vegetables. There were mortars and pestles of iron, bell -metal, and brass; tin bread-graters, tin, sugar, and hominy sifters, wooden trays upon which the meals were borne from the kitchen to the dining-room ; drawing-knives, which were probably the same as voiding-knives, with a slender blade, a keen edge, and a sharp point ; chopping-knives, which were long, stout, and heavy, being used in dividing the solid meats both before and after they were cooked ; also knives made for cutting cheese, dull and small in size ; large flesh-forks which were employed in turning the meats in the pots ; powdering-tubs in which beef and pork recently slaughtered were salted ; flour-tubs, meal-barrels, tin cullenders, and funnels, butter and galley pots, pepper- boxes, wooden bowls, bell-metal posnets, pincers, rolling- pins, bellows, stillyards, scales, and weights. The oven was placed in the immediate vicinity of the house, being a brick structure in a hole in the ground.^ The ironing seems to have been done in the kitchen ; in the inventory of the contents of this room, box-iron heaters and sad- irons are generally found enumerated.

The utensils in the dairy, or milk-house, as it was usually called, were cedar churns, pails, noggins and piggins, tubs, trays, and strainers, cheese-presses, butter- sticks, and earthen butter-pots.

1 accords of Henrico County, vol. 1688-1697, p. 10, Va. State Library. "Upon the examination of Culpeper (a servant) ... he confessed that John Green did come to him as he was at the oven about the bread." Becords of Accomac County, original vol. 1632-1640, p. 47. See also Eecords of York County, vol. 1657-1662, p. 174, Va. State Library. Les- sors sometimes bound themselves to repair " the brick ovens " belonging to the houses leased. See Records of York County, original vol. 1675- 1684, p. 596.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 177

In examining tlie furniture and utensils in the different rooms in the dwelling-house of the average planter of the seventeenth century, it will be found that no effort Avas made to preserve a distinct character for each apart- ment. With the exception of the kitchen, there was hardly a room in the building which did not contain a bed, a fact that was due either to the size of the families at that period, or to the hospitable spirit of the land- owners. In the hall, where the meals were taken, there were frequently placed fiock-beds, linen chests, smoothing- irons, guns, pistols, powder-horns, and cutlasses, swords, drums, saddles, and bridles. In the parlor, which Avas the term applied to the apartment used as a sitting- room by the family as well as a reception-room for the guests, there were large feather-beds and truckle-beds, and also chests filled with the most valuable clothing and the finest table and bed linen. In the chamber, every variety of article in use in the household was stored, while the dairy, in addition to the ordinary utensils of the milk-house, contained masses of old and new pew- ter for repairing flagons, porringers, stills, chamber-pots, tankards, and fish-kettles. Powdering-tubs, chests, rum- casks, stillyards, spinning-wheels, raw hides, and sides of tanned leather were enumerated as a part of the contents of the " poultry."

It will be interesting, as showing the division of the household articles among the different apartments of a dwelling, as well as throwing light on the character of these articles, to give in detail the items in the inventory of a planter whose estate was fairly representative of the average. I shall take the home of Thomas Osborne of Henrico, who died in the last decade of the century, leaving a personalty calculated to be worth one hundred and twenty-five pounds sterling, which, according to the

178 ECONOMIC HISTOllY OF VIRGINIA

values of the present clay, amounted perhaps to three thousand dollars in American currency.^ I shall omit all reference to the clothing and live stock of the estate, confining the enumeration to the furniture, tahle ware, bed and table linen, and the utensils in the kitchen and dairy. The room designated as the "best" contained a feather-bed, with a bolster and a pair of pillows, curtains and valance, a blanket, and a worsted rug. There were also two chests with locks and keys, one framed table and a large form, one small sideboard table, one chest of drawers, six high and six low leather chairs, a small old-fashioned looking-glass, a pair of andirons with brass bosses, a pair of bellows, and a small leather trunk. In the apartment described as the " outward room " there were a feather-bed witli kidderminster curtains and valances, a bolster, a blanket, and a yarn rug, a pair of bellows, a large table and form, a small table, a chest, a couch, six rush-bottom chairs, and a pair of andirons. The apart- ment known as the " lodging room " contained a bedstead, a feather-bed, bolster, yarn rug, and blanket, a cupboard and chest, two Dantzic cases, and a small trunk. Passing from the lower to the higher floor, there were in the "best upper room" an old feather-bed and bolster, a pair of blankets and a cotton rug, calico curtains and valance, a new feather-bed and bolster, worsted kidderminster cur- tains and valance, a plain set of drawers, six Russian leather chairs, a small round table and looking-glass, a small seal-skin trunk and an ordinary chest. In the " north room " above stairs there were a bedstead, feather- bed, bolster, rug, and blanket, two pairs of hoUand and canvas sheets, a pair of hoUand and a pair of calico pillow-beers, two long diaper table-cloths, twenty-two diaper and six coarse napkins, four towels of Virginian

1 Records of Henrico County, vol. 1688-1697, p. 350, Va. State Library.

DO:\[ESTIC ECONOMY OF THE TLANTER 179

cloth, one chest, two warming-pans, four brass candle- sticks, two small guns fixed and two unfixed, a carbine and belt, a silver beaker, three tumblers, twelve spoons, one sack and one dram cup. In the kitchen there were three brass kettles, a brass and a bell-metal skillet, a bell- metal and a brass mortar and pestle, a brass skimmer and ladle, two iron pots, two iron dripping-pans, a frying-pan, a pewter still, two iron pothooks, two iron potracks, a pair of andirons, six pewter spoons, two pewter flagons, one pottle-pot, one sugar basin, one salt-cellar, one pewter tankard, one saucer, a box iron, and two heaters. Among the miscellaneous articles enumerated in the Osborne inventory were one wool and one linen spinning-wheel, a pair of wool-cards, six towels made of tag ends, one dozen new and eight old plates, eighty-six pounds of raw pewter, a parcel of earthenware, an iron pestle, a pair of stillyards, one gridiron, and two pairs of tongs.

The personal estate of Captain Francis Mathews of York did not differ substantially from that of Thomas Osborne. 1 In the hall of the INIathews residence there were two frame tables, one six feet in length, the other four feet, two leather chairs, a cupboard and drawers, two brass candlesticks, a clock with weights, and a pair of stillyards. The parlor contained a bedstead with green curtains and valance, a feather-bed with pillow, bolster, blanket, and rugs, a truckle-bed ^^•ith a l)olster, two pillows, one blanket, and one rug, a flock-bed with bolster, blanket, and rug, four pairs of canvas sheets and one brown holland sheet, three pillow-biers, three chairs, a pair of andirons, a gridiron, a pair of tongs and a pair of bellows, a looking-glass, a chest and trunk, two wine- glasses, a table case with four knives, a warming-pan, twenty napkins and two tal)le-cloths, a towel and two

^ llecords of York County^ vol. 1071-1094, p. 130, Va. State Library.

ISO ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

night-caps. In the room opposite to the stairway, there were thirty-two books, a saddle and bridle, two pounds of powder and sixteen pounds of shot, a yoke, ring, and sickle. The chamber over the parlor contained a limbeck of copper, a pewter still and bottom, a bedstead, a saddle, and an iron chain. In the kitchen, there were two iron pots, three pairs of pothooks, one spit, one flesh-hook, a frying-pan, fourteen milk-trays, one brass kettle, two brass skillets, one brass and one iron mortar, eight pewter dishes, a sugar basin and flagon, fourteen ordinary and two pie plates, two porringers, a quart and a half-pint pot, a salt-cellar, a mustard-pot, two saucers, three old pails, a churn, one churn-press, one joint stool, one cider hogshead, one window frame, a broadaxe, a saw and grindstone, and three hides.

Such in general were the household goods, independently of clothing, of the Virginian planter of the seventeenth century who possessed the average amount of property. The inventories of the personal estates of members of this class varied only slightly in their details, the articles in use being confined, as a rule, to those which were considered necessary for substantial comfort. Descending in the scale, it will be interesting to inquire as to the household goods of persons in narrower circumstances. In 1678, the inven- tory of William Gibburd of York was presented in court. ^ It showed that he had in his lifetime owned the following articles in addition to live stock and clothing: two beds and bolsters, two rugs, two blankets, two pillows, a hammock, an iron pestle, a saddle and bridle, an iron pot and pothooks, a skillet, a frying-pan, a smoothing-iron and heaters, a pewter chamber-pot, six pewter dishes, ten trays, two pewter drinking-cups, two porringers, a sauce- pan, two tin pans, eight spoons, a box, six glass bottles,

1 Becords of Toi-k County, vol. 1675-1684, p. 53, Va. State Library.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 181

tAvo runlets, four cases, one trunk, one churn, two pails, a butter and a washing tub, six stools, four chairs, three hammers, three axes, a drawing-knife, a branding-iron, a bill, a cross-cut saw, a rolling-pin, two combs and brushes.

The house of Thomas Shippey of Henrico ^ contained only three apartments, a hall, bedchamljer, and kitchen. In the hall, there were found a bedstead and bed, with a pillow and bolster, curtains and valance, a rug, a blanket and two pairs of sheets, a table form, an elbow chair, two leather and two wooden chairs, a small and a large chest. There were in the bedchamber, a trunk, a bed with a bol- ster, one rug, one blanket, and one pair of sheets, a small table-cloth, four napkins, and a towel ; in the kitchen, there were six pewter dishes, three plates, two saucers, a tumbler, a chamber-pot, six spoons, a tankard, a pewter salt-cellar, an iron ]Dot, spit, ladle, frying-pan, bread-tray, and pail.

The inventory of the personal estate of John Porter of Henrico, presented for record in 1689,^ showed the following articles in use in his household: one wooden and four pewter dishes, six alchemy spoons, six j)ewter plates, three pewter porringers, three iron pots and pot- hooks, a frying-pan and a meal-sifter, three trays and Uvo stone jugs, a pail and piggin, three stools, a wooden and a leather chair, a couch, two bedsteads, a bed filled with cat-tails, a second bed stuffed with feathers, curtains, valance, a cupboard, chest, trunk, and table.

To enumerate the household goods of other planters in the same position of life would only be to repeat the details which I have already given. Let us now consider the nature and quantity of the household articles found

1 Bpcords of Henrico County, vol. 1G88-1697, p. 5, Va. State Library. ■^ Ibid., p. G-1.

182 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

in the different rooms of the residences of phxnters in the enjoyment of the hirgest wealth which had as yet been accumuhited in the hands of private individuals in the Colony. The home of Mrs. Elizabeth Digges may be examined as no unfavorable example. ^ In the hall parlor of her dwelling-house there were five Spanish tables, two green and two Turkey-worked carpets, nine Turkey- worked chairs and eleven with arrows woven in the cloth of the seats, one embroidered and one Turkey-worked couch, five pictures, two pairs of brass andirons, three pairs of old tongs, and one clock. There was in the pas- sage a chest containing th'irty damask, thirty-six diaper, and sixty flaxen napkins, three diaper, nine damask, and forty-eight flaxen table-cloths, eight diaper towels, three pairs of hoUand sheets and pillow-biers, eight ells of holland, eight yards of calico, five ells of linen, and four yards of bunting.

In the " yellow room," there were a chest of drawers, one Turkey-worked and two plain carpets, one remnant of worsted tapestry and seven remnants of silk, one cloth bed with curtains and valances lined with yellow silk, a silk and an ordinary counterpane, a calico quilt, a teaster and a head-piece, a suit of white, and two old red curtains and two boxes.

In the "large room" opposite the "yellow room," there were a chest of drawers, a feather-bed with bolster, blanket and three winter curtains, a looking-glass, two trunks, one pair of brass andirons, one old brush, and one Avooden chair. In the "back room" opposite the "large room," there were a number of small and large books, one spice-box, several old gallipots, one pistol, two red trunks with a small quantity of different wares, a parcel of earthen utensils

1 Becords of York County, vol. 1690-1694, p. 213, Va. State Library. Mrs. Digges was tlie widow of Edward Digges, Governor of Virginia.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 183

and glasses, several painted boxes containing combs and needles, small scales and weights, one looking-glass, one ring dial, two cases of knives, eight gold mourning rings, a diamond and a small stone ring, one parcel of sea pearls, an old bodkin, twenty ounces of plate, an old small table, an old paper box, an old feather-bed and bolster, an old blanket and rug, three iron curtain rods, three old calico curtains, three pillows, and two baskets.

In the " red room," there were a feather-bed with a bol- ster, two pillows, one blanket, a counterpane, a quilt, and curtains ; there were also a drugget carpet, a pair of small iron dogs, two chairs, and a window curtain.

In the garret, there were two old feather-beds, five rugs, two blankets, a quilt, two bolsters, a small canvas bag, a napkin press, a brass pestle, five small pictures, one brass fire-shovel, two wooden platters, a rope, a remnant of canvas, and two old cushions. There were also in this apartment four chests, one of which contained eight cur- tains, an old blanket, and two pillows ; there were also five old trunks with locks and keys and two old boxes.

In the second " back room," there were one bedstead, three feather-beds, two bolsters, two pillows, eight pillow- biers, thirteen pairs of sheets, seven old towels, three dozen flaxen napkins, nine old flaxen table-cloths, a small chest of drawers, two wooden and two leather chairs, one small table and brush, a pair of andirons, and a pair of fire-tongs.

In the cellar, there were one dozen quart glass bottles, six earthen pots, a stone mortar with wooden pestle, and a small quantity of old lumber.

In the kitchen, there were one still, a warming-pan, and a small quantity of old brass, two gridirons, seven spits, four iron pots and pothooks, two pairs of jDotracks, one pair of rack irons, three old frying-pans, one pair of old tongs, a fire-shovel, a nutmeg grater, three brass stands,

184 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

two kettles, one brass skillet with an iron frame, a small skillet, one large and one small copper, and an old chest.

In Virginia, in the seventeenth century, the candle was in common use as a means of illuminating the rooms of the planters' residences after niglit had fallen. It was made of different materials. The candle of myrtle wax was for several reasons one of the most popular articles employed, owing partly to the clear light which it gave forth, and partly to the exquisite odor emanating from it. It was considered equal to a candle of beeswax of the finest quality. 1 The mj^-tle was a plant that grew in all the marshes and swamps, and as its berries could be gath- ered in great quantities, and conv^erted by boiling into wax, the means of illumination which it furnished was turned to account by the poorest as well as by the most affluent colonists. The candle made of myrtle wax was frequently consumed in the public service. Among the commodities paid for out of the public revenue in 1699, were twenty-six pounds of this vegetable wax and two pounds of cotton wick.^ Deer suet was also used. In the statement of disbursements which Colonel Norwood and the other owners of the ship Pink made, the arti- cles for which the tobacco in their hands was shown to have been expended included thirty pounds of this mate- rial, which had been purchased to be moulded into candles.^ Candles were also manufactured of beef tallow. Many were imported. The composition of the candlestick was of earthenware, brass, pewter, copper, iron, or silver. In some cases, the column was screwed to the plate. The snuffers, and the stand in which the snuffers were placed,

1 Beverley's History of Virginia^ p. 108.

2 Palmer's Calendar of Virginia State Papers, vol. I, p. 68.

3 See Accounts of Colonel Henry Norwood et «?., fly leaf, p. 23, Letters of William Byrd.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OP THE PLANTER 185

were made of the same metals as the candlestick. There were tin and brass lamps and tin lanterns. In the homes of the poorest class, it is quite probable tliat the pine knot served an important part in illumination, the turpentine, congealed in the fibre of the wood, causing it to burn with a fierce glare until consumed. The steel mill was in frequent use as a means of striking a light.

The fuel of the dwelling-house was found in the sur- rounding forests, which furnished a great variety of wood.^ The hickory and the oak were abundant everywhere. The clearing of new grounds, this forming a part of the annual plantation work, supplied a great quantity of trunks and limbs of trees of all sizes. The large fireplaces of the resi- dences in winter were filled with the heavy sticks, which, as the flames converted them into ashes, were, with a gener- ous hand, replenished by others. There could be no waste or extravagance in this use of wood, tlie surface of the country being covered with forests which the owners were anxious to destroy. Warmth was one element of comfort the colonial householder could secure in the coldest spells of the winter without expense and with little inconven- ience. The great wood fires, which cast such a cheerful glow about the different apartments of his home, must have done much to promote the contentment of all who entered into his family circle. In the mother country, throughout the seventeenth century, the forests steadily diminished, and wood for household use, in consequence, became dearer in value ; the difference in Virginia in this particular must have impressed all emigrants from Eng- land to the Colony, where firewood was the cheapest of

1 Sea-coal seems to have been imported to a small extent. In 1G90, eight barrels of this material, lying at Handy's Landing on Queen's Creek, were attached. BeconU of York Countij, vol. 1G87-1G91, p. 403, Va. State Library.

186 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIHGIXIA

the more important materials entering into the domestic economy. The climate being a mild one during the greater portion of the year, the large fires were only kept up in the short intervals of verj^ cold weather.

The same fact had a controlling influence in the matter of the clothing worn by the planters and their families. John Smith, who resided long enough in the Colony to form a just notion as to the character of the climate, has preserved the list of articles which the Company con- sidered necessary to the comfort of the emigrant to Vir- ginia in this respect ; he was advised to take with him a monmouth cap, three falling bands, three shirts, one waist- coat, one suit of canvas, one of frieze, one of broadcloth, three pairs of Irish stockings, a pair of garters, four pairs of shoes, and a dozen pairs of points. The purchase of these articles entailed an expenditure of fifty-nine shillings. ^

If reliance can be placed on the testimony of Pory, the presiding officer of the first Assembly convening in Vir- ginia, the simplicity of the outfit advised by the Company was not followed even by persons in the lower ranks of life in the Colony. " Our cow-keeper in Jamestown," he wrote, " on Sundays goes accoutred in fresh flaming silk, and the wife of one in England that had professed the black art, not of a scholar but of a collier of Croyden, wears her rough beaver hat with a fair pearl hat-band and a silken suit thereto correspondent. "^ Pory was not in- dulging in as much exaggeration as would appear upon the surface. Among the regulations established by the Assembly in 1619, over which he presided, there was a provision that every person should, if unmarried, be as- sessed according to his apparel, and if married, according to the clothing belonging to himself and the members of

1 Works of Capt. John Smith, p. 607.

2 Letter of Pory, Neill's Virginia Vetusta, p. 111.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 187

his family. The object of this was to discourage any dis- position to show extravagance in dress, it being justly thought that in the state of the Colony at that time, all the settlers' means should be husbanded to ensure them the absolute necessaries of life.^ Ten years after the adop- tion of this regulation, when the Colony had recovered fully from the blow inflicted by the great massacre upon all of its interests, there are indications that fine apparel was quite common in Virginia. In 1629, Thomas Warnet, a prominent merchant of Jamestown, died, and in his will bequeathed to different persons many articles of showy clothing, among them a coif, a cross-cloth of wrought gold, a pair of silk stockings, a pair of black hose, a pair of red slippers, a sea-green scarf edged with gold lace, six dozen buttons of silk and thread, a felt hat, a black beaver hat, a Polish fur cap, a doublet of black camlet, a vest, a sword, and a gold belt.^

The incongruity of such shining apparel with the rude surroundings of new settlements in the wilderness does not seem to have jarred upon the perceptions of the popu- lation except so far as it implied an unnecessary expendi- ture ; and this view was only taken when the resources of the Colony for one cause or another were seriously impaired. About the middle of the century, a law w*as passed prohibiting the introduction of garments contain- ing silk, or the introduction of silk in pieces except for hoods or scarfs, or of silver, gold, or bone lace, or of ribbons wrought with gold or silver. All goods of this character brought in were to be confiscated and then

' 1 Lawes of Assembly, 1619, Colonial Becords of Virginia. Senate Doct., Extra, 1874, p. 20. In the instructions to Wyatt, 1621, he was enjoined to allow only members of the Council and heads of Hundreds to wear gold in their clothes. Bandolph 3ISS., vol. Ill, p. 161.

^ New England Historical and Genealogical Begister, April, 1884, p. 197.

188 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

exported. In the matter of apparel, as in the other inter- ests of their private lives and of the community at large, the colonists looked upon themselves as constituting just as much a part of the mother country in its social and economic habits as if no ocean rolled between Virginia and England, The physical conditions were different ; the minds of the people were the same. Silk stockings, beaver hats, red slippers, green scarfs, and gold lace appeared to be as natural articles of apparel to the Virginians in the early part of the century, when the community was made up of a few small settlements, as they did to Englishmen in the largest towns of the kingdom in the same age. This was an element of those class distinctions which have always entered so deeply into the English spirit, and which have cropped out without regard to physical sur- roundings ; nowhere were these distinctions more jeal- ously observed than in the infant Colony, and it is not, therefore, surprising to find that in spite of the rough con- ditions of life prevailing there, there Avas a marked dispo- sition to indulge a taste for expensive clothing.

It has been seen that it was the habit of all the planters in affluent or even moderate circumstances to keep on hand many ells of different cloths to supj^ly household needs as they arose. 1 These were lockram, oznaburg, dowlas, blue linen, striped dimity, serge, kersey, canvas, penistone, calico, linsey-woolsey, shalloon, damask, muslin, drugget, fustian, thread silk, galloon, and Scotch. Some description of these various materials will be of interest as showing the nature of the fabrics in which the people of Virginia dressed in the seventeenth century, Lockram and dowlas were species of cheap and coarse linen; this was also the

1 For examples, see B('cordff of York County, vol. 1684-1G87, p. 85, Va. State Library ; Records of Henrico Countij, vol. 1(J77-1G92, p. 221, Va. State Library.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 189

character of oznaburg. Canvas was a strong cloth made of hemp or flax. The cloth known as Scotch varied in textui'e. Holland was the name given to unbleached linen. Calico was a cotton cloth that was first imported into England by the East India Company, Dimity was also of cotton but of a stout and enduring quality,. being interwoven with figures and patterns in colors. Peni- stone was a coarse woollen fabric of different hues. Broad- cloth was of fine wool and commonly black in color. Fus- tian was the term first applied to a mixture of cotton and flax, but at a later date was used to designate a certain species of woollen goods. Drugget in the seventeenth century was composed in part of silk and in part of wool or cotton, the warp containing gold or silver threads. Galloon was a closely woven lace used in binding.

In England, as well as in the Colony, it was the custom of the age for consumers to purchase large quantities of these and other cloths, and to have them converted into garments for the person or into articles for household use. A comparison of the prices at which they were valued in the mother country with the prices at which they were valued in Virginia, will throw important light on one of the prin- cipal elements in the relative exj^ense of living in England and the Colony. In England, the cost of lockram was generally about fifteen pence an ell ; in Virginia, it ranged from twelve to twenty-one pence an ell, according to breadth and quality, an ell being equal in length to a yard and a quarter. In England, one ell of dowlas averaged sixteen pence in cost; in Virginia, one yard of the same material ranged from eighteen pence to two shillings and a half, and in some cases, Avhen it was probably in a dam- aged state, sold for fourteen and fifteen pence. Dimity commanded in England from eight pence to one shilling

190 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

teen pence to two shillings. Scotch cloth was sold in Eng- land at the rate of abont twenty pence a yard; in A^irginia, it ranged from two to three shillings. The price of ozna- bnrg in Virginia was about fifteen pence a yard ; in Eng- land, it sold at the rate of twelve and three-quarter pence. Kersey in England ranged from twenty-eight pence to five shillings a yard; in Virginia, it was valued at from three to six shillings, according to width. Serge was sold in England in 1647 at the rate of six shillings a yard, but declined to two and three shillings towards the end of the century; in Virginia at this time it sold at the rate of three to five shillings a yard, according to quality. ^ Some notion as to the texture of these different cloths can be obtained from the character of the articles of dress manufactured from them. The shirt was made of hoUand, blue linen, lockram, dowlas, and canvas, according to the quality desired; the holland representing the most costly and canvas the least expensive. The buttons used on the shirt w-ere either of silver or pewter, and in many cases were carefully gilded. The drawers were of blue linen, calico, dimity, and canvas ; a pair has been noted made of leather.2 The stockings were either of silk, woollen or cotton thread, worsted or yarn. Thread stockings seem to have been used in riding. The shoes worn by men were

1 For the prices of these various cloths in England, see Rogers' History of Agriculture and Prices in England, vol. V : for lockram, p. 557 ; dowlas, p. 557 ; dimity, p. 558 ; Scotch cloth, p. 554 ; oznabiirg, p. 555 ; kersey, p. 575 ; serge, p. 575. The statement of prices in the Colony is based upon an extended comparison of the appraisements recorded in the county courts. The merchants who imported the cloths into Virginia obtained them in England at a lower price than they were retailed at in the kingdom. This accounts for the comparatively small difference between the prices at which they were sold in England and in Virginia.

2 Becords of Henrico County, vol. 1688-1G97, p. 223, Va.State Library. "Drawers" was a term which in that age was very often applied to breeches.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 191

made of ordinary leather, or they were of the sort known as French falls. The shoe buckles were manufactured of brass, steel, or silver. There are many references to boots, a popular means of protection to leg and foot, since the planters were compelled to pass much of their time on horseback. 1 The periwig was worn in the latter part of the century. In 1689, William Byrd forwarded one to his merchant in London with instructions to have it altered. ^ Among the personal effects of Robert Dudley of Mid- dlesex Avere two articles of this kind. Thomas Perkins of Rappahannock left three at his death, and Alexander Young of York, two.-^ The covering for the heads of men consisted of the monmouth cap, the felt, the beaver or castor, and the straw hat, which occasionally terminated in a steeple. The neck-cloth was of blue linen, calico, dowlas, maslin, or the finest holland. The band or falling collar was made either of linen or lace, in keeping with the character of the suit. The material of the coat ranged from broadcloth, camlet, fustian, drugget, and serge, which became less expensive with the progress of the century, to cotton, kersey, frieze, canvas, and buckskin.* When of broadcloth, it was lined with calico and doubtless with different kinds of linen. There are numerous references

1 In 1636 a pair of boots in Accomac were valued at forty pounds of tobacco. Records of Accomac County, original vol. 1632-1640, p. QQ.

2 Letters of William Byrd, June 10, 1689.

3 Becords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1698-1713, p. 103 ; Rec- ords of Rappahannock County, vol. 1677-1682, p. 37, Va. State Library; Records of York County, vol. 1694-1702, p. 439, Va. State Library. See also Ibid., vol. 1675-1684, p. 381. The inventory in this instance included three. See also Stratton inventory, Records of Henrico County, original vol. 1697-1704, p. 137.

•* There is a reference in the inventory of Edward Phelps to a buck- skin coat. Records of York County, vol. 1675-1684, p. 174, Va. State Library. For a squirrel-skin coat, see Records of Loioer Norfolk County, Sept. 25, 1646. Full buckskin suits were not as common in the 17th as in the 18th century.

192 ECONOMIC HISTOUY OF VIEGINIA

to the stuft coat, and the smock, and to the serge or linen jacket. The upper garment used in riding seems to have been made of camlet. The buttons attached to the coat ranged in composition from small and large silk thread to brass and pewter, stone, silver, gimp, and mohair. The sleeve terminated in ruffles or cuffs when its material Avas of the finest quality of cloth. Over the ordinary coat a great-coat of frieze was worn in spells of cold weather; on special occasions a substitute was found in a blue or scarlet cloak or silk mantle. The waistcoat was made of dimity, cotton or drugget, flannel or penistone, and re- flected a great variety of colors, white, black, and blue being the most common. It was also found adorned with what was known as Turkey-work. The breeches when of the finest quality were of plush or broadcloth; when of inferior material, of linen or common ticking. There are many references to serge breeches lined with linen or worsted, and having thread buttons, and also to callimanco, having hair buttons. The whole suit was occasionally of plush, broadcloth, kersey, or canvas, or the coat was made of drugget, and the waistcoat and breeches of stuft cloth. ^ The olive-colored suit was not uncommon. The handker- chiefs were of silk, lace, or blue linen, the gloves of yarn, or of ox, lamb, buck, dog, or sheepskin tanned, and were of local manufacture. The hands of children were kept warm by mittens. It seems to have been the habit of many persons among the wealthy class of planters to have even their plainest and simplest articles of clothing made in England. Fitzhugh instructed his merchant in London in 1697, to send him two suits of an ordinary character, one for use in winter and the other in summer. The exact measures for the shoes and stockings needed were

1 A suit was sometimes valued at ten pounds sterling. See Will of Corbiu GrilBn on file in Middlesex County.

DOMESTIC ECOXOMY OF THE PLANTER 193

to be guessed at, and the only direction given as to the two hats ordered were that they shoukl be of the largest size.

The clothing of the female members of the planters' fam- ilies was obtained from the same source as the clothing of the planters themselves. The most costly part of it was imported. Many of the dresses worn must have been as handsome as the dresses of women of the same social class in England; there are numerous allusions to silk and tlowered gowns, to bodices of blue linen or green satin, and to waistcoats trimmed with lace. The petticoat was of serge, flannel, or tabby, a species of colored silk cloth ; it was also made of printed linen or dimity, and was trimmed with silk or silver lace. An outfit of gown, petticoat, and green stockings, composed of woollen material, is often entered in the inventories. The coverings for the head were of several kinds ; therje were sarsnet and calico hoods, palmetto hats ^ and bonnets trimmed with lace, to be used on special occasions. Black tippets were worn on the lower portion of the arms, and the hands were concealed by thread gloves. Scarfs reflecting a variety of colors were drawn about the neck, and mantles of crimson taffeta over the shoulders. The hose also varied very much in color, being white, scarlet, or black . There were silk garters dyed in different hues. The shoes of finest quality were either laced or gallooned. Woollen shoes and shoes with wooden heels were also Avorn. The aprons were of muslin, silk, serge, and blue duffield. Fans, many of which were doubtless highly ornamented, were conspicuous articles of dress in the toilets of the planters' wives, and golden and gilt stomachers were not unknown. Sweet powders were also in use.^

1 Brcords of Bappahannoclc Comity, vol. 1677-1682, p. 21, Va. State Library.

2 Que Henrico inventory contains the following item : " Two boxes of sweet powder and four puffs." Vol. 108S-10'.i7, p. -lOo, Va. State Library,

194 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

When the stepdaughter of Joseph Croshaw of York set out for Virgmia from Enghind about 1661, she was furnished by Jonathan Newell with the following articles of clothing : a scarf, a white sarsnet and a ducape hood, a white flannel petticoat, two green aprons, three pairs of gloves, a long riding scarf, a mask, and a pair of shoes. ^ The wardrobe of Mrs. Sarah Willoughby of Lower Nor- folk consisted of a red, a blue, and a black silk petticoat, a petticoat of India silk and of worsted prunella, a striped linen and a calico petticoat, a black silk gown, a scarlet waistcoat, with silver lace, a white knit waistcoat, a striped stuff jacket, a worsted prunella mantle, a sky-colored satin bodice, a pair of red paragon bodices, three fine and three coarse holland aprons, seven handkerchiefs, and two hoods. The whole was valued at fourteen pounds and nineteen shillings. ^ ,

Mrs. Francis Pritchard of Lancaster was in possession of a wardrobe quite as extensive as that of Mrs. Willoughby. It included an olive colored silk petticoat, petticoats of silver and flowered tabby, and of velvet and white-striped dimity, a printed calico gown lined with blue silk, a white striped dimity jacket, a black silk waistcoat, a pair of scarlet sleeves, a pair of holland sleeves with ruffles, a Flanders lace band, one cambric and three holland aprons, five cam- bric handkerchiefs, and several pairs of green stockings.^

An instance is recorded in York of the destruction of silks and linen valued at fourteen pounds sterling belong- ing to a lady of that county, in consequence of the care- lessness of her servant in dropping fire into the trunk in Avhich they were kept.

1 Records of York County, vol. Ifi57-1662, p. 415, Va. State Library. See in same volume, p. 3'.»9; also p. 140 in vol. 1687-1691.

2 Becords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1675-1686, f. p. 147.

3 Becords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1674-1687, p. 77.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 195

Among the property of women in this age were pearl neckhices, gold pendants, silver earrings, and gold hand rings which were often inscribed with posies. It was qnite common for people making provision against the time of death to leave mourning rings to a large number of relatives and friends. Mrs. Elizabeth Digges in her will desired that eight, should be distributed among the members of her intimate circle. Corbin Griffin of Middle- sex bequeathed twenty-five pounds sterling for the pur- chase of rings of the same character, sixteen pounds of which were to be expended in such as would cost one guinea apiece. In his will, Nathaniel Bacon, Sr., ordered that twenty pounds of his estate should be used in buy- ing mourning rings, which he directed should be given to certain persons who were dear to him. Francis Page left similar instructions. John Page empowered his executors to purchase eighteen for the same purpose,^ Robert Hodge of Lower Norfolk, fourteen, and Robert Beckingham of Lancaster, sixteen. ^ In March, 1675, a judgment was entered in the General Court involving a large number of pearls which had not been delivered. ^ A few years before, INIrs. William Bassett had been permitted by the same court to retain her jewels as a part of her para- phernalia. Bequests of such articles to wives by hus- bands were not uncommon. In the estate of Arthur Dickinson, there were included one gold ring with seven rubies, a second ring with one ruby, a third with a white

1 Becords of York County, vol. 1690-1694, Bacon, p. 153 ; Francis Page, p. 171 ; John Page, p. 137 ; Va. State Library.

2 Becords of Loicer Norfolk County, original vol. 1675-1686, f. p. 106 ; Becords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1674-1689, f. p. 19.

3 Becords of General Court, p. 213. See also Becords of Pri7icess Anne County, vol. for 1697, Oct. 21, in which there is an inventory that includes among its items ten pearls and fifteen bloodstones.

196 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

stone, and lastly, a ring of plain gold.^ Nathaniel Branker of Lower Norfolk County, at his death was in possession of a sapphire set in gold, one gold ring with a blue stone, another with a green stone, and another still with a yellow, two hollow w^rought rings, a diamond ring with several sparks, a mourning ring, a beryl set in silver, and an amber necklace. ^ Small gold and silver bodkins were used by the wives of the planters for the purpose of keep- ing the headdress in place.

Plantation life towards the end of the century, as at an earlier date, gave few opportunities even for the most moderate display. There were no towns where, as at Williamsburg in the following century, the families of the leading citizens of the Colony might gather at cer- tain seasons and show off in considerable state the con- temporaneous fashions. The church of the parish was the only social centre of each community. It was here alone that fine clothing could be exhilDited on a public occasion. Doubtless at the weddings, and other social meetings of a private character, the most costly suits and dresses were worn.

1 Becords of York County, vol. 1664-1672, p. 474, Va. State Library.

2 Becords of Loioer Norfolk County, original yoI. 1686-1695, f. p. 17. There seem to have been skilful goldsmiths in the Colony. This is to be inferred from the following extract from the Becords of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1684-1699, p. 201 : " Whereas it appears that Peter Gibson received of Henry Royall foure gold rings to make two rings of them of ye same weight, but they being lost by accident, as ye said Gibson alleges, and made oath that ye said rings weighed but four pennyweight and eight grains. It is, therefore, ordered yt the said Gibson doe forthwith make two gold rings of ye aforesaid weight and deliver ye same to ye said Royall or order, making reasonable payment for making thereof with costs."

CHAPTER XIII

DOMESTIC ECOXo:^^Y OP THE PLANTER — continued

All the descriptions of Virginia in the seventeenth century transmitted to us go to show tliat the people of all classes in that age lived in the greatest abundance. Those conditions which had furnished the aboriginal tribes with an unlimited supply of food of extraordinary variety, Avith the need of but small effort in securing it, prevailed with little appreciable modification except in one or two particulars. 1 The soil, the air, the water, all con- tributed to the plenty so freely enjoyed by the great body of the English population. There were innumerable cattle that afforded butter, cheese,^ milk, veal, and beef. The ice-house as yet did not enter into the household economy, and in consequence it was the custom of a planter on slaughtering an ox to send to his neighbors such portions of the carcass as could be spared, which the neighbor repaid in his turn.^ At this time, the only means employed for the preservation of fresh meats was water flowing into a box house erected in the stream that issued from the spring, but this expedient did not serve

1 Colonel Norwood in his Voyage to Virginia declares that North- ampton was " the best county of the whole for all sorts of necessaries for human life," p. 46, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III.

2 The inventory of the personal estate of Nathaniel Bradford of Ac- comac included among its items fifty pounds of ' ' Virginia cheese." Itecords of Accomac County, original vol. 1G82-1697, f. p. 214.

3 Leah and Rachel, p. 19, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III.

198 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

to keep siicli meats in good condition for any great length of time. Beef both dried and fresh were included in the inventories of estates. ^ In some cases it had been salted. The beef of the Colony, while pronounced to be of excel- lent quality, was not as fat as that produced in England, where the cattle perhaps were more carefully provided for in winter. A cow or an ox designed for the butcher was there most frequently stalled as a preparation for its con- version into food. In Virginia, it was allowed to run wild in the woods even in December and January, or was scantily fed on straw, and when the spring arrived, bringing the grass back to the fields and the leaves to the forest, the animal was almost exhausted. With the improved nourishment it soon recuperated, but never acquired the fatness which made English beef one of the most nourishing of all varieties of food.

As has already been stated, the bacon of the Colony, many years before the close of the seventeenth century, was considered by impartial foreign judges to be equal to that of Westphalia, the most celebrated in the world in that age.^ Clayton expressed the opinion that it very much excelled the English. The very causes that

1 One of the items in the inventory of Robert Drury of York County was "forty pounds of dried beef," this being in addition to other meats. Becords, vol. 1684-1687, p. 333, Va. State Library. The inventory of Margery Bullington included eighty-seven pounds of beef. Becords of Henrico County, vol. 1688-1697, p. 306, Va. State Library. There were professional butchers in the Colony in the seventeenth century, some of whom, if an inference can be drawn from the case of William Johnson, were the owners of extensive tracts of laud. See Becords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1694-1703, p. 230.

2 Clayton's Virginia, p. 36, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III. Burn- aby, writing nearly an hundred years later (1759), remarked : " The Vir- ginia pork is said to be superior in flavor to any in the world." See his travels printed in Va. Hist. Begister, vol. V, No. 1, p. 38. Large quanti- ties of pork are enumerated in the inventories of the seventeenth century.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTEIl 199

detracted from the quality of Virginian beef were favor- able to the quality of Virginian bacon. The wandering existence of the colonial hog, by reducing its fat, was probably as effective in creating the superior flavor of its flesh as the mast, roots, and herbs upon which it fed while ranging in the woods. Clayton declared that shoats or porklets were the principal food of a large section of the population. Poultry were so numerous in the Colony even during the time of the Company that it was affirmed that only those planters who were bad husbandmen failed to breed an hundred a year, and that they formed a part of the daily meals of all who were in good circumstances. ^ As the general wealth increased, the use of domestic fowls as food was not confined to those who had comfortable means. Devries, a Dutch captain who visited the Colony in 1643, has recorded the fact that a carpenter, upon whose house he had stumbled when lost in the vicinity of Newport's News, set before him a meal consisting of turkey and chicken, which had been killed for his use.^

The number of sheep in Virginia being comparatively small, mutton was more esteemed than venison, which Avas so commonly eaten in some parts of the Colony that the people had grown tired of it.^ The other kinds of game furnished food at certain seasons of the year in great abundance. Not only were the flocks of wild tur- keys very large, but the birds themselves often attained to an extraordinary weight. The wild fowls in the rivers, creeks, and bays were so numerous in autumn and winter

1 Worls of Capt. John Smith, p. 885. Poultry, probably because they were so abundant, were rarely enumerated in the inventories. See Berords of York County, vol. 1657-1662, p. 161 ; also Ibid., vol. 166^-1672, p. 103, Ya. State Library.

- Devries' Voyages from Holland to America, p. 188.

3 Clayton's Virginia, p. 35, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. Ill ; Leah and Rachel, p. 13, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III.

200 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

that they were regarded as the least expensive food on the table of the planter ; ^ the goose, the mallard, the canvas-back, the red-head, the plover, and other species of the most highly flavored marine birds were more frequently cooked in his kitchen than domestic poultry. Fish of the finest varieties were as easily obtained. Sheepshead, shad, breme, perch, soles, bass, chub, and pike swarmed in the nearest waters. Oysters could be procured in quantities as large as in the first years after the settlement of the country, while other species of shell- fish were found in almost equal abundance.

It was thought by many good judges, that the fruit of Virginia was superior in flavor to that of England. This was in the most marked degree the case with the peach and quince, the quince of the Colony, unlike that of the mother country, being sufliciently palatable to be eaten raw, while the difference between the English and Virginian peach was said to be as great in favor of the latter as that between the best relished apple and the crab.- There were grapes, plums, and figs in all of the gardens, and in season, large quantities went to decay because there was no way of using the superfluity. Strawberries grew in such abundance in the deserted fields that it was con- sidered unnecessary to cultivate the plant ; baskets were with little difficulty filled with the wild berries.^ Apple orchards were numerous and furnished a supply of this I'ruit both for the summer and the winter. There were ten varieties of peas and two varieties of potatoes, the sweet and the Irish ; there were pumpkins, cymblins,

1 Among the twenty-one guns owned by Ralph Wormeley were five fowling pieces. See Eecords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1608- 1713, p. 128. Lands were frequently posted. See Becords of York County, vol. 1090-1094, p. 251; Va. State Library.

2 Leah and Rachel, p. 1?>, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III.

3 Beverley's History of Virginia, p. 104.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 201

melons, and roasting ears of Indian corn. All of the English vegetables flourished in the soil of Virginia. Walnuts, chestnuts, hickory, and hazel nuts were obtained from every forest. Honey was a common article of food, much attention being paid to apiculture ; there were few householders who did not have hives under the eaves of their outbuildings, one planter owning as many as thir- teen stocks. 1 Mr. George Pelton, who lived about the middle of the century, obtained from his bees an annual profit of thirty pounds sterling. ^ There were many wild swarms in the woods, the honeycombs, Avhich were con- cealed in the hollows of trees, becoming very frequently the booty of the colonial bee-hunters.

Among the imported articles of food was rice and sweet- meats, and spices in large quantities were also brought in. There were pepper and cloves, mace and cinnamon, ginger, sugar,^ and lime-juice, oranges, lemons, raisins, and prunes. Salt formed a part of the stores of every planter, being needed not only for giving flavor to the different dishes appearing on the table at meals, but also for the preservation of meats reserved for household con- sumption, or designed to be exported."^ Wheat-bread was in common use among the members of the highest class, but bread made of Indian corn baked in large or small

1 Hecords of York County, vol. 1664-1672, p. 446, Va. State Library. See also Beconls of Henrico County, vol. 1677-1692, p. 354, Va. State Library. New Description of Virginia, p. 4, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. II. Mr. Nicholas Seabrell of York owned seven hives. Vol. 1CG4-1672, p. 162, Va. State Library.

2 New Description of Virginia, p. 15, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. II.

3 In a letter to John Cooper of London in 1685, Fitzhugh writes: "I have only in my former sent for 100 pounds of sundrey sugars, and about 60 or 80 pounds of powdered sugar." June 1, 1685.

* Among the articles in household use owned by Giles Mode in 1657 were two hogsheads of salt, one of white, the other of bay salt. Becords of York, 1657-1662, p. 48, Va. State Library,

202 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIIiGINIA

cakes in the pan, was equally as po})ular ; it was most probably the only bread eaten by the servants and slaves. As early as 1621, it was generally recognized by the peo- ple of the Colony that Indian corn bread was more nour- ishing than wheat in the arduous life which at that time they were compelled to lead, and the same fact had been observed at a later period in the case of men who had been required to work with their hands.

Twenty years after the foundation of the Colony it was asserted, it would seem with considerable exaggeration, by a woman of prominence who had resided there, that from her own ground of a few acres in Virginia, she could provide for her household more abundantly than in London by an expenditure of three or four hundred pounds sterling,! which in that age was equal to several thousand dollars in our modern currency. The ease with which a subsistence was secured, the combined result of a fertile soil and a genial climate, was the principal expla- nation of the hospitality for which the people were distin- guished before the country had been settled half a cen- tury.^ Colonel Norwood, in describing his sojourn on the Eastern Shore after his shipwreck, relates that he was feasted not only by the host whom he happened to be visiting for the time being, but also by all the planters in the neighborhood. There seems to have been some rivalry as to who should be able to set before their guest the greatest variety of dishes. Norwood, who was not unfamiliar with the manner of life of the English court, commended the cooking in Virginia. ^ The gentry seem to have felt much pride in their tables, taking pains, we

1 Works of Capt. John Smith, p. 887.

2 Leah and Rachel, p. 15, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III.

3 Norwood's Voyage to Virginia, p. 48, Force'.s Historical Tracts, vol. 111.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 203

are informed by Beverley, to have their victuals cooked and served as if they were in London. ^

It was the general habit of the colonists to charge nothing for the casual entertainment of a stranger, suffi- cient remuneration being derived from the enjoyment of his society, a pleasure of no small importance in the secluded life of the plantations. It was especially provided by law that unless there had been a distinct arrangement to pay for accommodations, both in regard to food and shelter, nothing could be recovered from a guest, however long he might remain under the roof.^ The usual charge for board about the middle of the cen- tury was five pounds sterling for twelve months, or about one hundred and twenty-five dollars in American cur- rency of the present age. Bullock stated, that by the expenditure of this sum in the Colony, any one might live in a manner which in England would entail an outla}' of thirty pounds sterling, six times the amount required in Virginia.^ The rates for victuals at all of the ordinaries were carefully prescribed by law. Previous to 1639, the cost of a meal was fixed at six pounds of tobacco, or eighteen pence in coin, but in the course of that year it was reduced to twelve pence, or its equivalent in the same commodit3% the abundance of food of all sorts being unusually great.* Five years later, the charge for a meal at an inn was not allowed to exceed ten pounds. Only wholesome diet was to be furnished, and that in sufficient quantity.^

During the session of the Assembly in March, 1657-58,

1 Beverley's Histonj of Virginia, p. 236.

2 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 192.

3 Bullock's Virginia, p. 87.

4 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 229.

5 Ibid., p. 287.

204 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

special rates for a meal and lodging at JamestoAvn were en- forced by the authorities, a master being required to pay i twenty pounds of tobacco and a servant fifteen. ^ The same | charges were prescribed by an Act of Assembly a decade later, this Act extending to all parts of the Colony. So onerous were the rates adopted by the tavern keepers on their own motion, that it is stated to have had a serious effect in deterring persons having just claims from attend- ing the General and County Courts and prosecuting their suits. The excessive demands had their origin not so much in the exorbitant spirit of the keepers of ordinaries as in the limited character of the local custom, and the great danger of depreciation in the leaf offered in pay- ment. The rate fixed upon by law for a single meal, fifteen pounds for a master and ten for a servant, was very high, as fifteen pounds of tobacco at this time would bring, if its quality Avas good, not less than five shillings in modern English currency, which appears remarkable in a country distinguished for an extraordinary abundance of provisions.^

Ten years later some important changes were made in the rates for food at the taverns. For a master, the amount for a single meal was fixed at twelve pounds of tobacco and for his servant at eight, if they were stopping at an ordinary in the town where the General Court or the Assembly had convened. Elsewhere it Avas to be ten for the master and six for the servant. The cost of lodging for each one Avas not to exceed three pounds, whether at Jamestown or at other places in the Colony. The charge for pasturing a horse, the owner of AAdiich Avas a guest of the inn, AA-as fixed at six pounds for ar period of tAventy-four hours ; if sheltered and supplied with hay and straw, the fee for the same length of time Avas to be 1 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 490. 2 jj^i^.^ vol. II, p. 263.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 205

eight. Grain was to be furnislied at tlie rate of forty pounds of tobacco a bushel, and oats at the rate of sixty pounds.^

At different periods in the course of the seventeenth century, an attempt was made to arrange the general scale of prices at which articles of food were to be sold, without regard to their being disposed of in a tavern or not. This was often done in tlie early decades by the proclamation of the Governor and Council. The rates set by the owners were doubtless very much higher than those laid down in these proclamations, nevertheless the rates prescribed in the latter represented with substantial accuracy the true value of such articles at the time. In 1625, a pound of tobacco was worth about one shilling. In this year was renewed the proclamation that appeared in 1623, the year of the great dearth following the massa- cre, which led to exorbitant charges for the most ordinary articles. A pound of sugar was rated at one pound of to- bacco or one shilling in coin, a firkin of butter at twenty pounds of tobacco or twenty shillings, Newfoundland fish at ten pounds of tobacco or ten shillings a hundred, Canada dry fish at twenty-four pounds of tobacco or twenty-four shillings a hundred, Canada wet fish at thirty pounds of tobacco or thirty shillings a hundred. ^

In 1612, a tax was imposed upon every tithable person in the Colony for the benefit of Governor Berkeley, to be paid in provisions of different kinds. The rate prescribed for geese and turkeys was five shillings apiece ; for hens, twelve pence ; for capons, one shilling and six pence ; for beef, three and a half pence a pound ; for a calf in condition to be slaughtered and converted into veal, twenty-five shillings ; for a goat, twenty shillings ; for a

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 394.

2 British State Papers, Colonial, vol. IV, No. 1.

206 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

roasting pig, three shillings ; for butter and cheese, eight and six pence a pound. ^

When, in 1676, English soldiers were sent to Virginia for the purpose of suppressing the insurrection which had broken out under the leadership of Bacon, an order was issued that the people should sell them the following articles at the prices named, the ratio of the purchasing power in the currency of the present day being obtained by multiplying the figures by four or five : fresh beef was to be sold at the rate of two pence a pound and dressed beef at the rate of three ; fresh pork at the rate of two pence and salted pork at the rate of two and a half. The price set for dried bacon was five pence a pound ;; for a cock, hen, or pullet, ten pence ; and for a capon, fifteen. Milk was to be sold at the rate of two pence a quart in the interval between September 30th and j\Iay 20th, and of one penny between May 20tli and September 30th. During these two successive periods, the price of butter was to be six and five pence respectively. The price set for eggs was a penny for three. Indian corn was to be sold at the rate of two shillings and six pence a bushel, and wheat at the rate of four shillings. To this must be added the out- lay in converting these grains into meal and flour. ^

It will be seen from this general statement of prices that the cost of the principal articles of food had fallen in the interval since 1642 in some cases as much as fifty per cent. Allowance must be made for the fact that the rates laid down in this schedule had been arranged at military dictation. The charges for food at this time were very

1 Hening's Stattitrs, vol. I, p. 281.

2 Acts of Assembly, Feb. 20, 29tli year of Charles II Reign, Wi7ider Papers, vol. II, p. 99, Va. State Library. In 1031, milk sold at Kecougli- tan at the rate of twelve pence a gallon. Archives of Maryland, Pro- ceedings of Council, vol. 1667-1688, p. 235.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 207

high, the suppression of the insurrection having left all the interests of the Colony in a state of confusion. The schedule was adopted to override this condition of affairs hy force of law.

In the list of debts filed against the estate of John Griggs, in February, 1678-79, there is found an interesting statement of prices of certain provisions. For instance, a beef was appraised at four hundred pounds of tobacco, a turkey at forty pounds, two geese at eighty, two bushels of flour at ninety, and twenty pounds of butter at one i hundred. 1 A pound of tobacco at this time was worth from one and a quarter to two pence. In 1682, the price of fresh beef was fixed at ten shillings or one hundred pounds of tobacco a hundred-weight ; the price of fresh pork at t\^'elve shillings or one hundred and twenty pounds of the same commodity a hundred, representing in both instances a value of one penny and one-fifth of a penny a pound. ^ Dried beef was higher by several pence.^

The different figures quoted show very plainly that the rates for provisions gradually fell in Virginia with the progress of the seventeenth century; this was due to the increase in the number of plantations, and the en- largement of the volume of production in every depart- ment. The decline continued in the eighteenth century for the same reasons. When Beverley wrote his history of Virginia, a pound of beef or pork ranged in price as low as one penny. The fattest pullets were sold for six pence apiece, a turkey hen for fifteen or eighteen, and a turkey cock for two shillings.*

It is interesting to compare the rates for provisions in

1 lierords of York County, vol. 1675-1684, p. 87, Va. State Library.

2 lUd., vol. 1671-1694, p. 104 ; Heuiiig's Statutes, vol. II, p. 507. •'' Palmer's Calendar of Virginia State Papers, vol. I, p. 45.

* Beverley's History of Virginia, p. 2.36.

208 ECONOxMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

Virginia with the rates for the same articles of food in England during the seventeenth century; a just concep- tion may be thus obtained of the relative expense of living in the two countries during this long period. In England, the price of beef at the beginning of the century was nearly two pence a pound, and at the close of it four pence. In the Colony, it was precisely the reverse. Three and a half pence in 1642, when the provision tax Avas im- posed for the benefit of Sir William Berkeley, the price of one pound of beef was one penny and one-fifth of a penny in 1682, and at certain seasons one penny only in 1705. In 1645, veal was sold in England at two shillings and seven and a half pence a stone; in 1678, at two pence, two and a half pence, and two and three-quarter pence a pound. In these instances, the weight of the calf when slaughtered did not exceed ninety pounds. The price lists adopted by the Assembly in Virginia make no specific reference to veal, the rates for this meat doubtless being included in those for beef. The valuation laid down for a calf in 1642, namely, twenty-five shillings, conveys no definite idea as to weight, the age alone of the animal being taken into consideration. The Virginian price lists fail to in- clude mutton, an indication of the small part which it played in the economy of the household. Some notion as to its cost in the Colony as compared with its cost in England may be obtained from the relative values of sheep in the two, which have been touched upon in the account of the agricultural development of Virginia at different periods. Pork in the mother country rose in price as time advanced, reversing, as in the case of beef, the history of the same article of food in the Colony, where it commanded, in the latter part of the century, a penny and one-fifth a pound. In England at this time three pence seem to have been the lowest rate, and in

do:mestic economy of the planter 209

some cases it rose to six. The differences in the prices of bacon in England and Virginia were not so marked, five pence a pound being its value in the latter country in 1677, while in the former it sold not infrequently for seven. 1

In England, the price of butter fluctuated very much in the seventeenth century. During the course of the first thirty years, it rose very steadily; then, with the exception of the interval between 1643 and 1652, when it was very dear, it declined during thirty years, then rose in price again, until in the last decade it was rated at a very high figure.'-^ In 1600, it commanded five pence and one-seventh of a penny a pound, or four shillings eight and a half pennies a dozen pounds ; in 1650, six pence and five-twelfths of a penny a pound, or six shillings and five pence a dozen pounds ; in 1700, at seven pence a pound, or seven shillings a dozen pounds.^ In 1642, butter was sold in the Colony at eight pence a pound;* in 1667, when food was dear, at six pence in winter and at five in summer.^ By the end of the century, it had sunk to still lower figures. The same fact is observed in regard to butter as in the case of other forms of food, that is to say, it grew dearer in England as the century advanced and cheaper in Virginia. The rates for milk in 1677, the only year in which a record of its value exists, were two pence in winter and one penny in sum- mer, adopting the quart as the standard of measurement. The only reference to the price of this article in England

1 Rogers' History of Agriculture and Prices in England, vol. V, price of beef and veal, pp. 334, 338 ; pork and bacon, p. 343.

2 Ibid., p. 358.

^ Ibid., pp. 373-378. * Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 281.

5 Acts of Assembly, Feb. 20, 29th year Charles II Reign, Winder Papers, vol. II, p. 99, Va. State Library.

VOL. II. — p

210 ECONOMIC HISTOllY OF VIRGINIA

ill the same century is in connection with the interval between 1643 and 1649; in the latter year, it sold for five pence a gallon, or one and one-quarter pence a quart. ^ The probability is that it followed the ratio of increase in price observed in the case of other provisions. In Eng- land, the price of eggs fell from four shillings in 1600 to two shillings six and a half pence in 1645, one hundred or eight dozen being taken as the standard. For the rest of the century there aj)pear to be no data. It would seem that, like butter, eggs rose in price towards tbe close of the century. The falling off in value for the first fifty years represented a decline from half a penny an egg to about one-third of a penny. In 1677, a year of great scarcity, the price of an egg was in Virginia fixed at one- third of a penny, but this doubtless was a much higher valuation than prevailed at a later date.^ In 1642, a capon sold in England at one shilling five and a half pence, in Virginia at one shilling six pence ; in 1678, in England at three shillings, in Virginia in the same year at one shilling five pence ; in 1700, at two shillings six pence in England, in Virginia at eight or nine pence. A hen or pullet in England sold in 1642 at eleven and a half pence, in Virginia at twelve pence ; in 1676, in Eng- land at two shillings, in Virginia at ten pence ; in 1700, in England at two shillings and six pence, in Virginia at six pence. In 1642, a goose sold in England at two shillings and a half penny, in Virginia at five shillings ; in 1678, in England at three shillings and six pence, in Virginia at forty pounds of tobacco, which were equal in value to about one and a half pence a pound ; in 1700,

1 Rogers' History of Agriculture and Prices in England, vol. V, p. 362.

2 Acts of Assembly, Feb. 20, 29tli year Charles II Reign, Winder Papers, vol. II, p. 99, Va. State Library ; Rogers' History of Agriculture and Prices in England, pp. 372, 375.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 211

in England at three shillings and six pence, in Virginia at ten pence or a shilling. The same difference was to be noticed with respect to turkeys and ducks, ^

In the True and Sincere Declaration^'^ issued in De- cember, 1609, by the Governor and Council for Virginia, there was an advertisement for two brewers, who as soon as they were secured were to be dispatched to the Colony ; and in a broadside published about this time the adver- tisement was repeated. 3 Brewers were also included among the tradesmen who Avere designed by the Company to go over with Sir Thomas Gates.* This indicated the importance in the eyes of that corporation of establishing the means in Virginia of manufacturing malt liquors on the spot instead of relying on the importations from England. The notion arose that one of the principal causes of the mortality so prevalent among those arriving in the Colony in the period following the first settlement of the country was the substitution of water for the beer to which the immigrants had been accustomed in England. The Assembly, in the session of 1623-24, went so far as to recommend that all new comers should bring in a supply of malt to be used in brewing liquor, thus making it unnecessary to drink the water of Virginia until the body had become hardened to the climate.^

Previous to 1625, two brew-houses were in operation in the Colony, and the patronage which they received was evidently very liberal. The i)opulation of Virginia at

1 Rogei's' History of Agriculture and Prices in England, vol. V, prices of capon, pp. 374, 378 ; hen, p. 378 ; goose, p. 375. For Virginian prices, see Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 281, vol. II, p. 506. Beverley's History of Virginia, pp. 230, 237.

^ Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 353.

^ Ibid., -p. 356.

^ Ibid., p. 470.

* British State Papers, Colonial, vol. Ill, No. 7.

212 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

that time had, with the exception of a small proportion of the inhabitants, not only been born but also reared in England, and had, therefore, the English thirst for strong liquors. It was not long before they discovered the adaptability of the persimmon to beer.^ It was even sought to make wine of sassafras. ^ Barley and Indian corn were planted to secure material for brewing, the ale produced, both strong and small, being pronounced by capable judges to be of excellent quality.^ Twenty years after the dissolution of the Company, there were six public brew-houses in Virginia, the malt used being extracted from the barley and hops which had in con- siderable quantities been raised for this purpose.^ In 1652, George Fletcher obtained the monopoly of brewing in wooden vessels for a period of fourteen years. ^ In some places, beer was, about the middle of the century, the most popular of all the liquors drunk in the Colony,^ the great proportion of it being brewed at this time in the houses of the planters. With the progress of time, the cultivation of barley practically ceased. In the period

1 Broadside, 1621, Purchas' Pilgrimes, vol. IV, p. 1784.

2 This was the project of a Mr. Russell, a chemist, who proposed, in consideration of £1000 to be paid by the Company, to demonstrate that wine could be produced from the sassafras. The proposition was ac- cepted by the Company with some modiiication, but as nothing more is known of the matter, it is to be inferred that Mr. Russell failed to show what he had undertaken. Eoyal Hist. MSS. Commission, Fifth Report, Appx., p. 341.

3 Works of Capt. John Smith, p. 886. George Thorpe, writing to John Smith of Nibley in 1620, comments on the fact that the colonists had found a way to make a good drink from Indian corn, which he preferred to English beer. Cholmondeley MSS., Boyal Hist. MSS. Commission, Fifth Report, Appx., p. 341.

* Perfect Description of Virginia, p. 3, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. II.

^ Neill's Virginia Carolorum, p. 231.

6 Leah and Rachel, p. 13, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 213

of the English Protectorate, there were offered a number of petitions from English merchants who were anxious to obtain licenses to export malt to Virginia ; ^ the quantity brought in steadily increased, the landowners in good circumstances purchasing it to be used in making beer. They also imported the beer itself. The poorest class of people had recourse to various expedients as a substitute for malt. They brewed with dried Indian corn or with bran and molasses ; or they brewed with the baked cakes of the fruit of the persimmon tree ; or with potatoes ; or the green stalks of maize chopped into fine pieces and mashed; or with pumpkins; or the Jerusalem artichoke, which was planted like barley to be consumed in the manufacture of spirits. It is said, however, that the liquor made from this vegetable was not very much esteemed. 2 There are many references in the county records to malt-mills and also to malt-houses,^ which were the private property of planters. Some owned dis- tilleries,^ others worms and limbecks.

1 British State Papers, Colonial, vol. XIII, No. 12.

2 Beverley's History of Virginia, p. 238. The following letter relating to the importation of malt is lareserved in the York Records :

" LoxDox, May 2, 16G0. Brother: I doe hereby desyre you to deliver unto Mr. Robert Whit- liaire or Richard jNIerret, and in their absence, then unto Mr. Christopher Harris in Queen's Creek in York River, five hogsheads of mault, marked hN No. 16, 17, 18, 19, 20. . . ." Becords of York County, vol. 1(357-1062, p. 308, Va. State Library.

3 Reference has been made to the malt-house of Francis Page. Ed- mund Scarborough had also erected a house for this purpose. Becords of Accomac County, original vol. 1666-1G7G, p. 31. The malt was generally kept in the cellars. Giles Mode writes in 1657 to Mr. Bushrod as follows : " I am sensible the mault you had in ye sellar was betwixt six and seven bushels. . . ." Becords of York County, vol. Wb7-IQ62, IX 4S,ya. State Library.

* Becords of Rappahannock County, vol. 166-1-1673, p. 83, Va. State Library.

214 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

Cider was in as common use as beer ; in season it was found in the house of every planter in the Colony. In the opinion of English judges, like Hugh Jones, it was not much inferior in quality to the most famous kinds produced in Herefordshire.! Fitzhugh, however, does not appear to have entertained this opinion, although, like Jones, he had in early life been in a position to compare English with Virginian cider on the. ground where it was made. On one occasion, he sent to George Mason of Bristol a sample of the cider of the Colony, accompanying it with a some- what apologetic letter : " I had not the vanity," he wrote, "to think that we could outdo, much less equal, your Herefordshire red stroke, especially that made at particular places. I only thought because of the place from where it came, it might be acceptable, and give you an opportunity in the drinking of it to discover what future advantages this country may be capable of."^

Large quantities of cider were frequently the subject of specialties ; thus Peter Marsh of York County about 1675 entered into a bond to pay James Minge one hundred and twenty gallons. ^ It was also the form of consideration in which rent was occasionally settled.^ The instance of Alexander Moore of York shows the quantity often be- queathed; he left at his decease twenty gallons of raw cider and one hundred and thirty of boiled. Richard Moore, of the same county, kept on hand as many as fourteen cider casks.^ Richard Bennett made about twenty butts of cider annually, while Richard Kinsman compressed from the pears growing in his orchard forty

1 Hugh Jones' Present State of Virginia, p. 41.

2 Letters of William Fitzhugh, May 17, 1695.

3 Becords of York County, vol. 1675-1684, p. 63, Va. State Library.

4 Records of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1684-1699, p. 106, Va. State Library.

6 Records of York County, vol. 1687-1691, p. 64, Va. State Library.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 215

or fifty of perry.i These liquors seemed to have been kept iu butts, hogsheads, and runlets. A great quantity of peach and apple brandy was also manufactured.

In addition to beer and ale, the liquors most generally used by the wealthier planters in the early history of the Colony were sack and aquavitije.^ With the passage of time, madeira became the most popular form of spirits with the members of this class in use at meals, and punch, manufactured either from West Indian rum or apple or peach brandy, at other times. ^ The people at large drank rum or brandy if a strong drink was desired.^ Mathegelin, a mixture of honey and water, was also consumed.^ Among the lighter wines in use were claret, fayal, and Rhenish. ^ It is a fact of curious interest, from our present point of view, that the rarest French, Portuguese, and Spanish wines and brandies were found in the ordinaries of Virginia in the seventeenth century, and the rates at which they were disposed of were carefully fixed by law. Where now only

1 New Description of Virginia, p. 14, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. II. This was, perhaps, as already stated, Kingsmill, not Kinsman.

2 Works of Capt. John Smith, p. 886. It is stated in this reference that " few of the upper planters drink any water."

3 Beverley's History of Virc/inia, p. 238. A liquor was also made from the quince. See Newell Inventory, Becords of York County, vol. 1675- 1681, p. 142, Va. State Library.

* Hugh Jones' Present State of Virginia, p. 52.

5 New Description of Virginia, page 15, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. II.

6 Fitzhugh, writing in 1694 to Mr. George Mason of Bristol, said : " I thank you for your half dozen of claret, and should have in gratification returned you a hamper of cider, but on examination found none worth the sending." July 20, 1694. Under date of July 25, 1690, Byrd wrote to one of his English correspondents and thanked him for a large quan- tity of Rhenish wine which he had sent. "The wine, although the cask was somewhat leaky, was extraordinarily good, better than any I had in bottles, and if we could find a way to settle our trade, it would do well, especially in this scarcity of claret."

216 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

the meanest brands of whiskey can be bought, madeira, sherry, canary, malaga, muscadine, fayal, and other foreign wines were offered for sale. Had there been no poi3uhir demand for them, they would not have been imj^orted. Descended from a race of hearty and liberal drinkers, the English, it would have been remarkable had the Virgin- ians of the period shown no strong tendency to indulgence in liquor. It is highly probable that the comparative loneliness of plantation life and the absence of exciting amusements liad a powerful influence in stimulating the love of spirits prevailing in the Colony from the earli- est time. The authorities of the Company in England, writing in 1622 to the Governor and Council in Virginia, attributed the massacre by the Indians, which had recently taken place, to the anger of Providence, who thus sought to punish the inhabitants " for enormous excesses in ap- parel and drinking." ^ In 1638, Governor Harvey declared in an official communication dispatched to England, that one-half of the principal commodity of the country, tobacco, was thrown away in a superfluity of wines and strong waters. 2 One of the most cogent reasons for requiring all shipmasters to keep the bulk of their cargoes unbroken until they arrived at Jamestown, a standing regulation for many decades, was to prevent a waste of the people's substance in purchases of liquors, to the neglect of the necessary articles of life. Fitzhugh states that in making bargains for the acquisition of the main crop of the planters, a certain percentage of expense had to be allowed by the trader for the spirits which would be consumed before the

1 Neill's Virginia Company of London, p. 322. See, however, the pathetic denial of this charge iu a letter of the Governor and Council, dated Jan. 20, 1623, p. 367.

2 Harvey and Council to Privy Council, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. X, No. 5 ; Winder Papers, vol. I, p. 145, Va. State Library.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 217

agreements were closed. ^ So intemperate was the in- dulgence at funerals, more especially in cider and rum, that some testators left instructions in their wills that no liquors were to be distributed on the occasion of their burials. 2

A supply of spirits was provided for the members of public bodies when they convened. The character of the liquors used depended somewhat on the nature of the assemblage. When Charles Hansford and David Condon, as the executors of the widow of the unfortunate Thomas Hansford, who lost his life on account of his participation in the insurrection of 1676, leased her residence in York to the justices of the peace of that county to serve as a court-house, they bound themselves to furnish not only accommodations for horses, but also a gallon of brandy during each session of the bench. It is not stated whether this brandy was consumed by the honorable justices in the form of the drink which has become so famous in later times in Virginia, tlie mint julep, but if mint was cultivated in the Colony in that age, it is quite probable that a large part of this gallon was converted into that mixture, the kindly effects of which were certainly not promotive of a harsh disposition in the enforcement of the law by the magistrates of York.^

1 Letters of William Fitshugh, April 8, 1687. In the account of Rich- ard Longman, as attorney of his father, an Engh'sh merchant, preserved in the lie.corcls of York County (vol. 1664-1672, p. 115, Va. State Library), six pounds sterling is entered as the amount expended in drink in making sale of the goods represented in the account.

2 Records of York County, vol. 1671-1694, p. 165, Va. State Library. The language of the testator in this case was as follows: "Having observed in the dales of my pilgrimage the debauches used at burialls tending much to the dishonour of God and his true Religion, my will is that noe strong drinke bee p'vided or spirits at my burialls."

3 Ibid., 1675-1684, p. 35. I have not been able to find any reference to the mint julep in the seventeenth century. It was doubtless the inven-

218 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

In 16G6, the justices of Lower Norfolk County rented the tract of hind on Avhich the court-house was situated, on condition that the lessee, in part consideration for the use of the houses and orchards each year, would pay ten gallons of ale brewed from English grain. ^

The members of the Council appear to have been fastidious in their tastes. It was one of the duties of the Auditor-General to have a large quantity of wine always ready at hand for this body; thus on one occa- sion, William Byrd, who filled the office in the latter part of the century, ordered for their use, twenty dozen of claret and six dozen of canary, sherry, and Rhenish re- spectively. A quarter of a cask of brandy was also to be added. 2

This unrestrained indulgence in liquor, which previous to 1624 had excited the criticism of the Company, called down on the Colony on several occasions the animadver- sion of the Royal Government after it had taken charge of affairs in Virginia. In 1625, Governor Yeardley was instructed to suppress drunkenness by severe punishments, and to dispose of the spirits brought into the Colony in

tion of a later period. Licenses were issued for the sale of cider at the meetings of citizens in attendance on the local courts. This is shown in the following extract from the Becords of Lancaster County (original vol. 1()80-1686, orders July 12, 168-2): " George Mayplis, petitioning the court to have ye privilege of selling of cider at ye courthouse in court time, the court doth order, provided it be no ways injurious or prejudicial in ye disturbing of ye court in their time of sitting, have admitted him so to do for this season." That the justices were not entirely proof against the attractions of the cider and the other liquors sold on court days is seen in the provision for the punishment of those members of the bench who should become intoxicated. Heniug's Statutes, vol. II, p. 381.

1 Becords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1666-1075, p. 35.

2 Letters of William Byrd, June 4, 1691. Under date of June 10, 1689, Byrd wrote: "If claret is not to be had, we must be content with port (that is, for the Council). ... I desire you to send me a hogshead of claret wiue. ..."

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 219

such manner that it would go to tlie relief and comfort of the whole plantation, instead of falling into the hands of those who would be most likely to abuse it. He re- ceived additional orders to return to the importers all liquors shown to be decayed or unwholesome.^ In 1638, the latter instruction, which had also been given to Wyatt, who was Governor at this time, was modified to the extent of requiring him to stave every vessel or cask containing spirits shown to be unfit for drinking. The injunction as to withholding all liquors imported into the Colony from persons who were guilty of excess in the use of them was repeated. ^

The attempts to prevent drunkenness were not confined to instructions to the Governors, given by the authorities in England; from the first session of the earliest Assembl}', no legislative means were left unemployed to accomplish the same object. In 1619, it was provided that the person guilty in this respect should for the first offence be privately reproved by his minister ; and for the sec^ ond, publicly ; for the third, be imprisoned for twelve hours, and if still incorrigible, be punished as the Gover- nor directed.^ In March, 1623-21, the church wardens in every parish were ordered to present all persons guilty of drunkenness to the commander of his plantation. In 1631-32, the penalty of the English law was imposed, that is to say, the offender was required to pay five shil- lings into the hands of the nearest vestry, and this fine

1 Instructions to Governor Yeardley, 1026, British State Papers, Colo- nial Entry Book, vol. LXXIX, p. 248 ; Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. II, p. 395.

2 Instructions to Governor Wyatt, 1638-39, Colonial Entry Book, vol. LXXIX, pp. 219-236; Sainsbury Abstracts for 163S, p. 47, Va. State Library.

3 Lawes of Assembly, 1619, Colonial Becords of Virginia, State Senate Doct., Extra, 1874, p. 20.

220 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

could be made good by a levy upon his property. In 1657-58, the most stringent regulations were adopted in suppression of this among other vices specially named; not only was the person guilty of inebriety to be punished by a very heavy fine, but he Avas to be rendered incapable of being a witness in court, or bearing office under the Government of the Colony. ^ In 1691, the penalty for the offence of drunkenness was fixed at ten shillings, and if the guilty person was unable to pay this sum, he was to be exposed in the stocks for the space of two hours. Eight years subsequently, the fine was reduced to five shillings. 2

The opportunities of obtaining liquor were very much increased by the large number of ordinaries in the Colony, in all of which a great variety of spirits was sold. It is probable that most of these establishments were mere tippling-shops, an inference justified by the strict regu- lations as to the prices at which liquors were to be disposed of by innkeepers. It is interesting to examine these prices as showing in part the expense of living in Virginia. Previous to 1639, beer alone was rated at the taverns, from Avhich it is to be supposed that this was the only form of spirits to be had in the ordinaries at that time. The amount prescribed by law was six pounds of tobacco, or eighteen pence in coin. About the year 1639, a condition of great plenty prevailed, and in consequence the charge was reduced to twelve pence or one shilling.^ Five years later, not only was the sale in the taverns of all liquors except strong beer and ale prohibited, but no debts, made by the purchase of imported wines or other spirits, could be enforced in a court of justice. This

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, pp. 126, 103, 433.

2 Ibid., vol. Ill, pp. 139, 170.

3 Ibid., vol. I, p. 229.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 221

was found to be so inconvenient tliat the Act of Assembly in which it had its origin was repealed. ^

The Act does not seem to have at any time applied to wine manufactured from grapes produced in the Colony, or to cider or perry compressed from apples or pears of Virginian growth, an exception being made in the case of these spirits in order to encourage the planting of orchards and vineyards. It was stated that beer and ale were also excepted for the purpose of promoting the cultivation of English grain. 2

To check exorbitant charges on the part of innkeep- ers, special rates Avere now laid down for retailers of the different wines and strong waters. The price by the gal- lon for canary, malaga, sherry, muscadine, and allegant was fixed at thirty pounds of tobacco; for madeira and fayal, at twenty pounds ; for French wines, at fifteen ; for the finest brands of English spirits, at eighty; and for brandy or aquavitse, at forty. ^ It is a fact worthy of attention that keepers of ordinaries were allowed to retail wines and other liquors at Jamestown when the merchants were expressly forbidden to do so. It was important to the public that the taverns at the seat of the Colonial Government should not fall into decay, and the exclusion of the merchants from the local traffic in strong waters shows how dependent the innkeepers of that community were upon the sale of spirits for their prosperity.* This regulation was put in operation at the close of the year 1645. In November, 1617, the old law which rendered all debts for wines and strong waters not pleadable in a court

1 Heuing's Statutcf>, vol. I, p. 295.

2 Becorcls of Loiver Norfolk County, vol. for the years 10t2, 1643, f. p. 34.

3 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 300. * Ibid., p. 319.

222 ECONO^NIIC HISTOr.Y OF VIRGINIA

of justice was revived witliout regard to the business of the creditor.! -phe transfer of spirits by the wholesale on shipboard was expressly excepted from the scope of this prohibition. Although it was stated that the rule that such debts should not be pleadable was to be perpetual, ten years had barely passed away before it was found necessary to establish rates for the sale of liquors by retail, which undoubtedly gave validity to obligations thus created. The interval between 1645, when the first schedule of prices was adopted, and 1657, when the second, covered only the period of a decade, and yet it is found that in this length of time, the rates for malaga, canary, sherry, muscadine, and allegant had doubled, while ma- deira and fayal had advanced from twenty pounds of tobacco a gallon to fifty ; French wines, from fifteen to thirty; English spirits, from eighty to one hundred and twenty ; and brandy or aquavitse from forty to sixty. The decline in the price of the leaf in this interval was a partial explanation of the increase in the rates. ^

We have evidence that the retailers were in the habit of mixing the cheaper with the dearer, and of adul- terating it still more grossly with a view to a larger profit. In the event that the fraud was discovered, the Commissioners of the Court in the jurisdiction of which the act was committed were authorized to order the con- stable of the county to stave the casks containing the liquor condemned.^ Special rates were permitted in the sale of spirits by retail at Jamestown during the session of the Assembly in the spring of 1658. The keepers of ordinaries could dispose of their Spanish wines for thirty pounds of tobacco a quart, or one hundred and twenty pounds a gallon, this being a quadruple advance upon the rates at which these wines were allowed to be sold in 1645,

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 350. 2 jud., p. 446. » Ihid.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 223

and double the rates permitted in 1657. The price laid down for French wines was twenty pounds of tobacco a quart and eighty pounds a gallon, representing, when com- pared W' ith previous charges, the same ratio of increase. A rate for beer was now quoted for the first time since 1639, when it was the onl}^ liquor that could be legally disposed of by retail. In that year, it was valued at less than six pounds of tobacco. It was now valued at twenty. ^

The permission to sell at these high figures, which, as we have seen, was granted to the keepers of ordinaries at Jamestown, only had their justification in circum- stances wholly local in character and entirely confined to one occasion. The Assembly was compelled to admit that the stringent laws adopted to restrain exorbitant charges for liquors in the ordinaries had failed of their purpose ; this was largely on account of the extreme fluctuation in the prices of tobacco, which led to the establishment of a regulation apparently well adapted to protect the interests of the retailer of liquor, as well as those of the purchaser : the judge of each county court was authorized to apply from time to time a sliding scale to the rates, as the value of tobacco rose or fell.^ In order to ensure its strict observance, every ordinary keeper was compelled to give bond, and had also to obtain a special license, paying three hundred and fifty pounds of tobacco to the Governor for it.^

After 1663, all retail sellers of liquors were required to use only the English sealed measures of pints, quarts, or gallons. Spirits imported in bottles were allowed to be disposed of without breaking the seal. It is an indi- cation of the heavy exactions to which buyers had been exposed under the lax system previously prevalent, that

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 489. - Ibid., p. 522.

^ Ibid., vol. II, pp. 19, 20.

224 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

a failure to introduce the English measures as directed by law exposed the retailer of liquor to the enormous fine of five thousand pounds of tobacco, and if he was also an innkeeper, to the cancellation of his license. ^

In 1666, the difficult matter of placing the rates upon an exactly just footing to the buyer and seller of liquors alike was settled by the adoption of an entirely new regulation ; this consisted of allowing the seller by retail to charge treble the amount which the spirits he disposed of had cost him, provided that this general rate was not in excess of the figures prescribed by law. Thus the charge for Spanish and Portuguese wines was not to ex- ceed ten shillings, or one hundred pounds of tobacco a gallon ; the charge for French wines was not to exceed eight shillings, or eighty pounds of tobacco a gallon ; for rum, ten shillings, or one hundred pounds of tobacco ; for brandy and English spirits, sixteen shillings, or one hundred and sixty pounds of tobacco. Permission was granted to ordinary keepers to secure as large a profit from the sale of beer as they could within a limit of four shillings a gallon, or forty pounds of tobacco. This price was extremely high, the privilege of larger gain in the case of this liquor being allowed on the specific ground that it was of domestic manufacture. What were de- scribed as " Virginia drams," that is to say, apple and peach brandies, were to be sold within the restriction of the rates laid down for English spirits. ^

It would seem that, for many years, the accounts of innkeepers for the liquors furnished to their customers had not been pleadable, although they had been charging at established rates. The right was now granted to them to sue upon these accounts in a court of justice and to recover judgment, but it was required that the action

1 Heniug's Statutes, vol, II, p. 113. - Ibid.., p. 234,

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 225

should be brought within a year after the debt was con- tracted. Twelve months later, the same schedule was readojited, except that the rate for cider and perry was fixed at two shillings six pence, or twenty-five pounds of tobacco a gallon. ^

In 1668, there were so many taverns and tippling- houses in the Colony, that it was found necessary to reduce the number in each county to one or two, un- less, for the accommodation of travellers, more should be needed at ports, ferries, and the crossings of great roads, in addition to that which was erected at the court-house. All persons who conducted drinking-shops without li- cense were fined two thousand pounds of tobacco. ^ The rates adopted for liquors in 1666, and readopted in 1667, having been found in 1671 to be too high in some in- stances, were materially lessened ; those for Portuguese, Spanish, and French wines were retained, while those for brandy, English spirits, and "Virginia drams" were cut down from sixteen shillings, or one hundred and sixty pounds of tobacco a gallon, to ten shillings, or one hun- dred pounds. The price of beer, which had been valued at four shillings a gallon, and of cider and perry, which had been valued at two shillings and six pence, was fixed at two shillings, or twenty pounds of tobacco a gallon. If the beer had been brewed with molasses, one shilling, or ten pounds, was the charge.^

In 1676, during the supremacy of Nathaniel Bacon, at which time so many laws were passed for the purpose of suppressing long-standing abuses, a legislative attempt was made to enforce what practically amounted to general prohibition. The licenses of all inns, alehouses, and tip- pling-houses, except those at James City, and at the two

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, pp. 234, 263, 287. 2 jj^ij_^ p. 209.

^ Ibid., -p. 287.

VOL. II. Q

226 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

great ferries of York River, were revoked. The keepers of the ordinaries which were permitted to remain open at the latter places were allowed to sell only beer and cider. This regulation was the more remarkable from the fact that it was adopted by the action of the people at large, who must have been the principal customers of the tip- pling-houses, if not of the inns. Not content with put- ting a stop to sales in the public places, the framers of the regulation further prescribed that "no one should presume to sell any sort of drink or liquor whatsoever, by retail, under any color, pretence, delusion, or subtle evasion whatsoever, to be drunk or spent in his or their house or houses, upon his or their plantation or planta- tions." ^

After the suppression of the insurrection, this sweeping measure was substantially modified by a substitute restrict- ing the number of ordinaries allowed in each county to two, Jamestown for obvious reasons being excepted from its scope. The rates for " Virginia drams " were fixed at ten shillings, or one hundred pounds of tobacco a gallon ; for beer, at two shillings, or twenty pounds a gallon ; for perry and cider, at twenty pounds if boiled, and at eighteen if raw. Tobacco at this time commanded about one and a half pence a pound. The prices of the foreign wines and spirits were to be fixed for each county in the months of May and November by the justices according to the mar- ket values then prevailing; and a failure on the part of these officers to set the rates subjected the court of which they were members to a very heavy fine.^

1 Bacon's Laws, 1676, Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 361.

2 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 394. The alternative "ten shillings or one hundred pounds of tobacco " would seem to show that lifZ. a pound , was now the price of tobacco. It would be safe to place its value a little higher, as the lowest figure was probably adopted by the Assembly.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 227

This system of establishing rates for foreign wines and spirits continued in operation during tlie remainder of the century and was embodied in the code of 1705 ; it was so eminently proper it seems surprising that it should not have been put in force from the beginning. Not only were the prices of foreign liquors when thus sold made to accord with the prices at which they were purchased before their importation into the Colony, but they were also, and this was a matter of still greater consequence, kept in touch with the fluctuating value of tobacco, in which form of currency the wines and spirits were rated. Prompt- ness in raising or lowering the schedule as circumstances demanded was ensured by the frequent sessions of the justices. The records of the county courts subsequent to the passage of the Act of 1676-77 contain regular reports of the prices established by them. From one of these entries, it is learned that in 1688 the charge for brandy by the gallon was fixed at sixty pounds of tobacco ; of rum and madeira, at fifty pounds ; and of other island wines, at forty. This was in Henrico.^ In York County, at this time, the rates were calculated in coin. Canary was to be sold at eight shillings a gallon, sherry at six, lihenish at four and six pence, claret and white wines at four, rum, madeira, and fayal wines at two shillings and six pence. 2 In the schedule adopted by the justices of the same county six years later, the only change made was in the price of claret, this wine being reduced from four to three shillings and six pence, an indication that it was now imported in larger quantities.^

It was required that the rates at which liquors were to be sold should be set in all the counties. Those which have

1 Becords of Henrico County, vol. 1088-1097, p. 31, Va. State Library.

2 Becords of York County, vol. 1084-1687, p. 321, Va. State Library. 8 Ibid., vol. 1690-1094, p. 225.

228 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

been given are representative. The tables from which these quotations were drawn show that the conditions referred to in regard to spirits offered for sale in the ordinaries at an earlier day existed also in the latter part of the century, that is to say, that liquors which in more recent times have been looked upon as among the luxuries of the rich alone, were in that age in the reach of the whole people, and could be bought in the Virginian taverns as readily as beer, cider, and perry of local manufacture. Madeira, malaga, canary, and fayal wines were probably much more abundant in the Colony than in England at this time, and were drunk by classes which in the mother coun- try were content with strong and small beer. In England, beer was in such common use that no quotations as to the rates at which it was sold are given by Professor Rogers in his great work on the history of prices in that kingdom. In Virginia, its value seems to have steadily advanced, as it commanded twelve pence a gallon in 1639, and two shil- lings in 1671; the latter price, however, was for the finest brands, since it is stated that beer brewed with molasses was still rated at one shilling a gallon.

The rise in the price of beer was perhaps due to the fact that in the early part of the century, the greater proportion of the whole quantity in the Colony was pro- duced in local breweries, either public or private, while towards the end of the century, liquor of this kind of the best quality was imported, thus materially increasing the outlay to the consumer. Cider being of local manufact- ure altogether, did not vary substantially in value after the orchards in Virginia had become numerous. Two shillings and six pence a gallon seems to have been the highest figure at which it was sold. In England, about the same time, it was retailed at a very much lower rate.^ 1 llogers' History of Agriculture and Prices in England^ vol. V, p. 327.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 229

It will be of interest to compare tlie i^rices of tlie spirits imported into the Colony with the prices of the same spirits as sold in England in the same age. In Vir- ginia, the Spanish and Portugnese wines, madeira, canary, malaga, and fayal were, in 1666, as has been seen, set down at ten shillings a gallon as the very highest fignre at which it was legal to sell them. In 1671, this regulation was readopted. It is not probable that the innkeepers disposed of these wines at rates as advanced as were allowed by law except in unusual instances, six or seven shillings a gallon being perhaps the average amount under ordinary circumstances. That this supposition is substantially Correct appears from the prices fixed by the justices of the Henrico county court in 1688, when madeira was assessed at fifty pounds of tobacco and the other island wines at forty pounds. If we ajDply the ratio of values prescribed by Act of Assembly in 1682, a pound of tobacco being accepted in that statute as worth one and a fifth pence, which is a high rather than a low figure for a year of large crops, like 1688, it will be seen that the cost of madeira was about five shillings a gallon, and of other Spanish and Portuguese island wines about four shillings. In England, madeira sold in 1697 at six shillings eight pence a gallon, a difference in its favor in Virginia of one shilling and eight pence. The average rate of canary in the mother country throughout the seventeenth century was five shillings eight and a quarter pence,i which was higher tlian the price of the same wine in the Colony in 1688, and probably than its average price from the time when it w\as first imported. Sherry rose in value in Eng- land from three shillings eight pence in 1617 to eight shillings in 1698 a gallon. In 1688, the same quantity of sherry was sold in Virginia at the rate of four shillings ; ^ Rogers' History of Agriculture and Prices in England, vol. V, p. 445.

230 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIKGINIA

before this, tlie highest figure allowed by law had been ten, which, however, was specified merely as a limit with- out being necessarily the amount fixed for the ordinary charge. 1 In 1688, sack was sold in the Colony at four shillings a gallon, the highest rate prescribed for it at any previous time being half a pound sterling. This limit also was probably never reached, except occasionally by exorbitant keepers of ordinaries. In England, the average price of a gallon of sack in the seventeenth century was five shillings and three pence.

The wines of France appear to have been dearer in Virginia than in England. The only French liquor much used in the Colony was claret, which, in 1666 and 1671, was rated at eight shillings a gallon, as the highest figure at which it was to be sold. Modifying this charge in order to reach the probable general average, and the price of claret still remains greater in Virginia than in the mother country, where the general average for the whole of the seventeenth century was only three shillings a gallon. The explanation of the costliness of French wines in the Colony as compared with those of the Spanish and Portuguese islands, is to be found in the fact that in con- formity with the Navigation laws, which did not apply to the island wines, they were imported first into Eng- land and from thence into Virginia. English spirits were of course dearer in the Colony, to which they had to be transported, than on the spot where they had been manu- factured. In 1671, English brandy commanded in Vir- ginia ten shillings a gallon ; in England in 1671, four shillings. 2 The prices of liquor in the Colony were prob- ably affected somewhat by the imposition of a duty of three

1 Rogers' History of Agriculture and Prices in England^ vol. V, pp. 445, 446. ■2 Ibid., p. 450.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 231

pence upon every four quarts of it brought in, unless it had been conve3'ed from the mother country. English importations were excepted from the scope of the Act.i In 1691, the general tax was increased to four pence ; if introduced in a vessel belonging wholly to Virginians, the duty upon the gallon was to be only two pence. ^

The liberal use which was made of spirits by all classes was not simply due to the indulgence of an appetite for liquor inherited with that English blood which has always gratified itself so freely in this respect under English skies. It was supposed to have a favorable influence upon the body from a medical point of view. The " morn- ing draught " was a popular expression in the Colony long before the close of the seventeenth century.^ This was the draught Avith which tlie day was begun, and it was the popular belief, a belief doubtless formed with the most delightful facility, that such a draught was the surest means of obtaining protection against the miasmatic exhalations of the marshes. The taint of sickness in summer lingered about the oldest settlements, and at all seasons followed in the track of settlers on the frontier engaged in cutting down the forest, who thus set free the germs that invariably lurk in a mould created by rotting leaves and decaying wood. This assured a large practice to all who made any pretensions to the art of the physi- cian. It is evident, from the number of medical bills entered upon record in the seventeenth century, that the expense of illness was an important drain upon the

1 Heuing's Statutes, vol. Ill, p. 23.

2 Ibid, p. 88. If the vessel had been built in Virginia, no duty was imposed.

3 Records of York County, vol. 1684-1687, p. 71, Va. State Library. Deposition of William Clopton : " That coming to the French ordinary on March 9, he happened to meet with Mr. Thomas Walkinson, who asked your deponent to give him a morning draught. . . ."

232 ECONOMIC HISTOilY OF VIRGINIA

resources of the colonial families in the course of that long period. The experience of Richard Longman, who «was residing in Virginia in the years 1661, 1662, and 1664, Avhere he was acting as the attorney of his father, an Eng- lish merchant, probably represents the experience of all who remained in the Colony only temporarily, and, there- fore, not long enough to become inured to the climate. He was not content to engage the services of one practi- tioner, but in succession employed three who were dis- tinguished for their skill. First, there was Dr. Eobert EUyson, who presented a bill of twelve pounds sterling ; secondly, Dr. Haddon, whose charges amounted to eleven pounds and four shillings ; and thirdly, Dr. Napier, whose bill was only a few shillings smaller. ^ That Longman should have called in so many physicians in turn was due, very probably, not to dissatisfaction with their learning and ability, but to the fact that, in selling merchandise and collecting debts belonging^to his father, he was com- pelled to remove from place to place. In 1670, Dr. Haddon charged a patient one thousand pounds of tobacco for twenty days' attendance, the distance he had to. ride each day being fourteen miles ; this bill was increased to fourteen hundred and sixty pounds by the medicines which he furnished,^ the whole representing in value a sum slightly less than fifteen pounds sterling. In 1695, the account of Dr. William Ellis of Elizabeth City against William Harris, including the costs of visits, physic, and advice, ran to seven pounds and ten shillings. ^ In all of these instances, the number of miles which the practitioner had to travel were carefully noted. On the

1 Eficords of York County, vol. 1604-1672, p. 117, Ya. State Library. ^ Ibid, IX 444.

3 liecords of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1084-1699, p. 92, Va. State Library.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OE THE PLANTEK 233

other hand, in the acconnt of Dr. George Glover against Edmund Dil, a seaman, there Avere entries for supplies of food and for lodging as well as for medicine and attend- ance, the amount of this bill being seven pounds sterling.^ In some cases, the patient, in consideration of the fact that his physician agreed to attend him and his family during his life, granted him a tract of land covering as much as one hundred acres in area.^

There are indications in different parts of the seven- teenth century that the charges of practitioners were con- sidered to be grossly immoderate. So excessive were their rates previous to 1630, that masters were tempted to suffer a servant to perish for want of proper advice and medicines rather then submit to their exactions. It was now jjrovided that in every case in which a patient had just cause to think that the account of his medical at- tendant was wholly unreasonable, he should have that attendant summoned to the court of the county in which the patient resided. Here the physician was required to state upon oath the quantity and value of the medicines which he had administered, and the judges then decided Avhat satisfaction was to be allowed him. These provi- sions remained in force during a long course of years. ^

The accounts of physicians were, in 1661, made plead- able against the estates of deceased persons, and these accounts, in case the patient recovered, were barred unless sued upon before the end of six months.* In 1661, the rule was adopted that when a practitioner was summoned to court to answer for immoderate charges, he should be

1 Itecords of Elizabeth Citu Countij, vol. 1G84-1699, p. 143, Va. State Library. See Records of York County, vol. 1(387-1091, p. 8 ; see also IJ,id., p. 307, Va. State Library.

- Records of York Count>j, vol. 1057-1002, p. 272, Va. State Library.

2 Ilening's Statutes, vol. I, pp. 310, 450. 4 Ibid., vol. II, p. 20.

234 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

allowed fifty per cent advance upon the value of the med- icines administered to the plaintiff, his patient, and such a sum for his visits and advice as they were decided to be worth. 1 Thirty years later, he was permitted to obtain an hundred per cent upon the full value of his drugs as sworn to in court.^ These drugs represented a consider- able variety of preparations, which it appears the physi- cians were only too ready to give, however slight the indisposition. A very popular course in the case of the most common disease of the country, ague and fever, seems to have been to prescribe first, several spoonfuls of crocus metallorum, and then for the purpose of purg- ing, fifteen to twenty grains of rosin of jalap; this was fol- lowed by Venice treacle, powder of snakeroot or Gascoin's powder. 3 Powders, ointments, plasters, and oils were among the medicines most generally used.

The items in a bill of Dr. Haddon of York for the per- formance of an amputation have been preserved. They included one highly flavored and two ordinary cordials, three ointments for the wound, an ointment precipitate, the operation of letting blood, a purge per diem, two purges electuaries, external applications, a cordial and two astringent powders, phlebotomy, a defensive and a large cloth. Dr. Haddon prescribed on another occasion a purging glister, a caphalick and a cordial electuary, oil of spirits and sweet almonds, a purging and a cordial bolus, purging pills, ursecatory, and oxymell. His charge for six visits after dark was a hogshead of tobacco weighing four hundred pounds.* In a case of cancer which Dr.

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, pp. 109, 110. An instance of this in actual practice is preserved in the Becords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1680-1694, orders July 4, 1687.

2 Ibid., vol. Ill, p. 103.

3 Clayton's Virginia, p. 6, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III.

* Becords of York County, vol. 1657-1662, p. 212, Va. State Library.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 235

Napier of York in 1666 attended, he had recourse to copi- ous bleeding and numerous cordials. The same physician, in a different disease, contented himself with administer- ing almost exclusively a considerable number of the latter mixtures. 1

The expenses attending the preparation for the grave and the burial of a corpse were probably more serious in the seventeenth century in proportion to the means of the people in that age than they are to-day. About 1650, the charge for a coffin was about one hundred pounds of tobacco ;2 in 1667, it was fifty pounds more, which was equivalent to one pound and a quarter sterling. ^ Thirty years subsequent to this, the coffin in which the remains of Thomas Jefferson, an ancestor of the celebrated states- man of the same name, were laid, cost twelve shillings and six pence, the larger part of which was represented in the charge for carpenter's work.^ In several cases, the price was ten shillings.^ The charge for a winding-sheet of holland was one hundred pounds of tobacco in 1652,^ and in the same year the charge for making a grave was twenty pounds.' In 1696, it was thirty.^ The assistance needed by the digger in filling in the grave increased the outlay on this account to ten shillings.^ The funeral

1 lipcords of Turk County, vol. 1664-1072, p. 109, Va. State Library. - Eecords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1651-1050, f. p. 78 ; Becords of York County, vol. 1657-1662, p. 270, Va. State Library. 3 Becords of York County, vol. 1664-1672, p. 221.

* See Virginia Magazine of History and Biograx>hy, vol. I, p. 212. '••Becords of York County, vol. 1694-1702, p. 141 ; Ihid., vol. 1087-

1691, p. 508, Va. State Library ; Becords of Lower Norfolk County, orig- inal vol. 1080-1695, f. p. 171.

•^ Bi'cords of Loicer Norfolk County, 1651-1656, f. p. 78.

" Becords of York County, vol. 1664-1072, p. 266, Va. State Library.

* Becords of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1684-1699, p. 117, Va. State Library.

9 Becords of York County, vol. 1004-1072, p. 471, Va. State Library.

236 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIllGINIA

sermon added very materially to the funeral expenses, the cost of this part of the ceremonies varying apparently at different periods ; in two instances in York County in 1667, it was two pounds sterling,^ and in 1690, it amounted to five pounds.^

The stones above the graves were often imported from abroad. Thus in 1657, Mrs. Sarah Yeardley in her will directed that after her death, her necklace and jewels were to be sent to England, and there sold, the proceeds to be used in the purchase among other things of two black tombstones to be conveyed to Virginia.^ Mrs. John Page desired her grave might be covered with a brick tomb on which a polished black marble slab was to rest.*

The outlay which custom required to be made in food, but more especially in liquors, for the funeral was often very heavy. Sheep, poultr}^ hogs, and heifers, and even an ox, were not infrequently killed to satisfy the hunger of the friends of the deceased who attended, and who, with few exceptions, had been compelled to come a long distance, owing to the fact that the plantations were so widely separated. Spirits were dispensed in large quan- tities. At a funeral which took place in York in 1667, twenty-two gallons of cider, five gallons of brandy, twenty-four gallons of beer, and twelve pounds of sugar were consumed ; ^ sixty gallons of cider, four gallons of rum, and thirty pounds of sugar were consumed by the company present at a funeral in Lower Norfolk in 1691.^ The amount that was drunk was indeed only limited by the resources of the estate. Some testators gravely calcu-

1 Becords of York Coxuitu, vol. 1664-1072, pp. 217, 221, Va. State Library,

2 Becords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1690-1709, p. 11.

3 Becords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1656-1666, p. 117. * Becords of York County, vol. 1094-1702, p. 64, Va. State Library. 5 Ibid., vol. 1664-1072, p. 221.

^ Becords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1086-1095, f. p. 171.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLAls'TER 237

lated the quantity of liquor which woukl be needed at their own obsequies, and made provision in the minutest details for this part of the outlay. When Mr. John Brace- girdle, a factor of Captain Philip Foster of England, re- siding in Virginia, came to draw his will, he not only specified the sum of money to be expended in his burial, but also directed that the spirits to be drunk in commemo- ration of that event should be drawn from " the quarter cask of drams," which at that time was lying in his store. ^ The personal estate of Walter Barton amounted to fifty-four pounds and fifteen shillings ; the cost of his funeral exceeded eight pounds.^ The expense of Mr. William A^incent's funeral was equal to fifteen hogsheads of tobacco. 3

In the early history of the Colony, legal steps were taken to afford to the people of each parish a public grave- yard, and the church Avardens were required to impale

1 Records nf York County, vol. 1664-1672, p. 549, Va. State Library.

2 Becords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1686-1695, f. p. 171.

3 riid., original vol. 1651-1656, f. p. 120. The following itemized state- ment was entered of record in proving the estate of John Griggs (Eecords of York County, vol. 1675-1684, p. 87, Va. State Library.) It covered his funeral expenses :

Funeral sermon 200 lbs. tobacco.

For a briefe 400 " "

" 2 turkeys 80 " "

" coffin 150 "

2 geese 80 " "

1 hog 100 "

2 bushels of flour 90 " "

Dunghill fowle 100 "

20 lbs. butter 100 "

Sugar and spice 50 " "

Dressing the dinner 100 " "

6 gallon sider 60 "

6 " rum 240 "

238 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

and to keep it in decent order. ^ P^rom the beginning, however, it was the custom of numerous persons to bury the deceased members of their families in the immediate vicinity of tiieir homes. Abraham Piersey, the wealthiest citizen of Virginia of his time, was buried near his dwell- ing-house. So common did this habit become that in a memorial drawn up by the Bishop of London in 1677, he complained that the public places for burial were neglected, and that the dead among the planters were interred in their gardens.^ The bodies of many were buried in the graveyards or in the chancels of the parish churches. ^

It would be inferred from the inventories of that period that there was no vehicle in Virginia in the seventeenth century resembling a carriage, but from other sources it is learned that this means of locomotion was not unknown in the Colony. Such a vehicle seems to have been in the possession of a few very wealthy persons. William Fitz- hugh owned what was known in that age as a calash, which had been imported from England ; Governor Berkeley possessed a coach. ^ When the average planter

1 Lawes and Orders, British State Papers, Colonial., vol. Ill, No. 9 ; McDonald Papers, vol. I, p. 93, Va. State Library.

2 Documents Relating to Colonial History of Kew York, vol. Ill, p. 253 ; see also ■will of Richard Kemp, Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. II, p. 174.

a Records of York County, vol. 1690-1694, p. 169, Va. State Library ; see also Records of Accomac County, 1632-1640, p. 53, Va. State Library.

* Will of William Fitzlmgh, Virginia Magazine of History and Biog- raphy, vol. II, p. 276, refers to his "coaches." Hugh Jones, writing in the first quarter of the eighteenth century, said that "most females (in Virginia) had a coach, chariot, Berlin or chaise." Present State of Vir- ginia, p. 32. See the reference to Lady Berkeley's coach in a letter of the English Commissioners, May 4, 1677, Colonial Entry Book, No. 81 ; Winder Papers, vol. II, p. 318, Va. State Library. Fitzhugh on one occasion ordered what he called a "Running chair," which probably resembled a modern sulky. See Letters, July 10, 1690.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 239

attended the meetings of the county court, or went to church, or was present at the funerals of deceased friends, or visited the homes of his neighbors, he was compelled, to rely upon his horse for conveyance, unless he was willing to travel in the ordinary farm cart : ^ the imperfections of the highways, and in some parts of the country the entire absence of passable roads, made the use of the horse almost a necessity in journeying from place to place. Among the most common entries in the appraisements of estates were the j)illion and side-saddle, which were kept in readiness for the female members of the family. The equipments of the stables were complete. The saddle was often bound in hogskin.^ A well-known planter of Eliza- beth City County had in his possession, in 1690, one article of this kind covered with purple leather, and another made of plush in the seat.^ Ralph Wormeley owned a crimson velvet saddle with broadcloth saddle-cloth and silk spring holsters, valued at fifteen pounds.* Hackney and troop saddles were in general use. The curb bridle was also common. There are frequent references to rid- ing stockings. The horses were allowed to remain unshod, which caused no damage or inconvenience, as the road- beds were for the most part level and sandy. The ordi- nary pace of the Virginian riders was a sharp hand gallop ; this led to the expression, " a planter's pace," an indica- tion of the energy with which they travelled, and the fleetness of their steeds.^

1 Records of York County, vol. 1664-1672, pp. 77, 4.5.S, Va. State Libraiy ; Jiecords of Henrico County, vol. 1688-1697, pp. 429, 072, Va. State Library.

- See inventory of Robert Beverley, Sr., on file in Middlesex County.

3 Records of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1084-1699, p. 254, Va. State Library.

* Records of Middlesex County, original vol. 1698-1713, p. 121.

^ Clayton's Virginia^ p. 35, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III.

240 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

When the public authorities had occasion to transmit a message or to send a packet, instructions were given to their agents to impress relay horses, and also men and boats in the performance of their orders. These agents in their accounts itemized the costs of the food and drink which they consumed in the course of their journeys. ^ About the middle of the century, the principal means of conveying public letters was to superscribe them with the line '' for public service," and then to require the planters in turn to pass the envelope on to its destination under penalty of forfeiting a hogshead of tobacco in case of neglect.^ In 1G92, a royal patent was granted to Thomas Neale to establish post-offices in America for the trans- portation of private and public mails ; and this patent was recognized by an Act of Assembly in 1692 to be operative in Virginia.^ Neale was required by the terms of this Act to erect a post-office for the Colony at large, and a post-office for each county. Permission was given him to charge three pence per day for every letter which covered only one sheet of paper and which had to be car- ried a distance not in excess of four score English miles; and six pence when the letter covered a space of two sheets or less. When the number of letters was sufficient to form a packet, the charge for every one not exceeding two sheets was to be five pence, and if the packet con-

1 Becords of York County, vol. 1690-1694, p. 336, Va. State Library ; Hening's Statutes at Large, vol. II, p. 250 ; Becords of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1689-1699, p. 206, Va. State Library ; Becords of Henrico County, vol. 1688-1697, p. 93, Va. State Library.

2 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 436. A letter of Sam'l Mathews, dated Auff. 24, 1659, written to Governor Fendall, took a month to reach its I destination. Bobinson Transcripts, p. 270. I

3 Hening's Statutes, vol. Ill, p. 112. The Council, it seems, had pro- I posed a post-office in 1689. Bandolph MSS., vol. Ill, p. 447. In 1692, I Peter Heyman was appointed deputy postmaster. Ibid., p. 455.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF THE PLANTER 241

sisted of deeds, writs, and other bulky papers, the amount t)f postage was to be twelve pence an ounce. When the distance to be covered in the transmission was greater than four score English miles, the rate was four pence halfpenny for every letter not exceeding one sheet, and nine pence for every one exceeding one sheet but not exceeding two. When a number were made up in a packet, to be sent to a longer distance than four score miles, the charge for every one covering more than two sheets was to be four pence halfpenny. If the packet was composed of writs, deeds, and similar documents, the charge was to be eighteen pence an ounce. The privi- leges granted to Neale were not to interfere with the transmission of letters by private hands if the writers preferred this means of conveyance. ^

1 This project came to nothing. See Beverley's Ilistorij of Virginia, p. 81.

VOL. II. R

CHAPTER XIV

RELATIVE VALUE OF ESTATES

All the different forms of property which were held by the Virginian planter in the seventeenth century have now been enumerated. They consisted, as has been seen, of land either inherited, purchased, or acquired by patent; of tobacco, Indian corn, and wheat; of horses, sheep, g-oats, hogs, and horned cattle; of agricultural implements, vehi- cles, and buildings; of white servants, both native and imported; of slaves born in the Colony or brought into it from Africa or the West Indies; of residences contain- ing a large quantity of furniture, carpets, plate, and uten- sils; of clothing, both linen and woollen, coarse and fine; and lastly, of a great assortment of household supplies of foreign or domestic growth or manufacture. Fitzhugh described very accurately the condition of the planters, when he declared in a letter to his brother, towards the close of the century, that they were in possession of an abundance of everything except money, by which he meant coin. Where a very large proportion of the arti- cles consumed or used by the family of the landowner were the products of his own soil, cultivated and gath- ered by his own laborers, there was but little need of a metallic medium of exchange as long as tobacco con- tinued to have h value in the markets of the world so high as to induce shipowners and merchants to transport 242

RELATIVE VALUE OF ESTATES 243

their goods to the very doors of the Virginians to pro- cure it.i

1 The condition of William Fitzhngh was in all its main particulars doubtless fairly representative of that of every planter in the Colony who was in possession of an equal degree of wealth. In a letter to Dr. Ralph Smith, April 22, 1G86, he thus describes it: "The plantation where I now live contains one thousand acres at least, seven hundred acres of which are a rich thicket, the remainder good hearty plantable land with- out any waste either by marshes or great swamps, the commodiousness, conveniency and pleasantness yourself knows, and upon it, there are three quarters well furnished with all necessary houses, grounds and fencing, together with a choice crew of negroes at each plantation, most of them this country born, the remainder as likely as most in Virginia, there being twenty-nine in all with stocks of cattle and hogs in each quarter. Upon the same land is my own dwelling house furnished with all accommodations for a comfortable and gentle living, with rooms in it, four of the best of them hung, nine of them plentifully furnished with all things necessary and convenient, and all houses for use furnished with brick chimneys, four good cellars, a dairy, dove cot, stable, barn, henhouse, kitchen and all other convenienceys, and all in a manner new, a large orchard of about 2500 apple trees, most grafted, well fenced with a locust fence, which is as durable as most brick walls, a garden a hun- dred foot square well paled in, a yard wherein is most of the foresaid necessary houses pallisadoed in with locust puncheons, which is as good as if it were walled in, and more lasting than any of our bricks, together with a good stock of cattle, hogs, horses, mares, sheep, necessary servants belonging to it for the supply and support thereof. About a mile and a half distant a good water grist mill, whose tole I find sufficient to iind my own family with wheat and Indian corn for our necessities and occa- sions. Up the river in this county, three tracts of land more, one of them contains 21,996 acres, another 500 and one other 1000 acres, all good, convenient and commodious seats and which in a few years will yield a considerable annual income. A stock of tobacco with the crops and good debts lying out of about 250,000 lbs., besides sufficient of almost all sorts of goods to supply the familys and the quarters occasion for two or three years. Thus I have given you some particulars, which I thus deduce the yearly crops of corn and tobacco together with the surplusage of meat more than will serve the family's use, will amount annually to 00,000 lbs. of tobacco, which at ten shillings per hundred weight is £300 per annum, and the negroes being all young and a considerable parcel of breeders, will keep the stock good forever. Tlie stock of tobacco man- aged with an inland trade will yearly yield 00,000 lbs. of tobacco without

244 ECONOMIC HISTOllY OF VIRGINIA

The accumulation of individual wealth in the Colony previous to 1650 was comparatively small. Sir John Harvey stated in 1639, that Virginia at this time consisted of very poor men. The largest estate as yet acquired was that of Abraham Piersey,i who had enjoyed as Cape Merchant a position of exceptional advantage for building up a fortune, but it is quite probable that, unlike Sir George Yeardley, who left property to the amount of six thousand pounds sterling,^ a considerable proportion had been earned in England before his connection with Vir- ginia began. About the middle of the century, there had been sufficient accumulations by individual planters to justify the author of Leah and Rachel in saying that many good estates were now obtained by immigrants simply by marriage with women born in the country, who had inherited their property from their parents, or from relations who were citizens of the Colony, ^ Lord Balti- more, speaking in 1667 of both Virginia and Maryland,

hazard or risk, which will be both clear without charge of housekeeping or disbursements for servants' clothing. The orchard in a few years will yield a large supply to plentiful housekeeping, or if better husbanded, yield at least 15,000 lbs. of tobacco annual income." Letters of WiUiam FitzJmgh, April 22, 1686.

1 British State Papers, Colonial, vol. X, No. 6 ; Sainsbiwy Abstracts for 1638-9, p. 58.

2 British State Papers, Colonial, vol. V, No. 15 ; Sainsbury Abstracts for 1629, p. 196, Va. State Library. The executors of Yeardley de- clared that his estate was not worth one-half of this amount. According to John Pory, "the Governor here (that is Yeardley) who at his first coming, besides a great deal of worth in his person, brought only his sword with him, was at his late being in London, together with his lady, out of his mere fittings here, able to disburse very near three thousand pounds to furnish him with the voyage." This letter of Pory will be found in part in Neill's Virginia Carnlorum, p. 17. Mathews valued the estate of Piersey at £491. See British State Papers, Colonial, vol. VIII, No. 5, II; Sainsbury Abstracts for 1633, p. 57, Va. State Library.

8 Leah and Rachel, p. 17, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III.

RELATIVE VALUE OF ESTATES 245

said that within the same length of time, it was easier for persons residing in either to gain fortunes than it would have been in the mother country. ^

It is very difficult, if not impossible, to obtain a per- fectly accurate idea of the value of the estates owned by the j)lanters of Virginia in the seventeenth century. Only an approximate notion caii be formed. As the volume of the personal property is set forth in the innumerable in- ventories preserved in the county records, this portion of the fortunes of that age is easily estimated. The real difficulty lies in our inability to obtain full information as to the extent of the landed interest held by individual jDlanters, as this part of their estates was not like person- alty listed for valuation.

It would be interesting to know what was the average amount of personal proj)erty brought over to Virginia by tlie great body of that class of settlers who immediately upon their arrival in the Colony took an independent position in the community in point of fortune. Reference has already been made to the articles of a varied character which Evelyn, Williams, and Bullock strongly recom- mended that every English emigrant who was in posses- sion of means and proposed to open a plantation should carry over with him.^ It is highly probable that the bulk of the assortments suggested by these writers were brought over by every man who entered Virginia with the intention of acquiring an interest more or less extensive in its soil- The agent who was in correspondence with Sir Edward Verney in 1634, respecting the course to be pursued on the removal of Sir Edward's son to the Colony, where he designed to establish himself as a planter, stated that the cost entailed in the purchase of goods and in the trans-

1 Archives of Maryland, Proceedings of Council, vol. 1667-1688, p. 16.

2 See closing pages of Chapter V, Agricultural Development, 1625-1650.

246 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIllGINIA

portation of the required number of servants would come to fifty-six 2)ounds sterling. ^ This sum did not include the outlay in buying land. In 1690, Fitzhugh, writing to Oliver Luke in England, who had expressed an intention of placing his son in Virginia, advised him to deposit two hundred pounds sterling in the hands of a trustworthy merchant in London engaged in trade with the Colony, with instructions to buy a suitable plantation there. At the same time, an additional two hundred pounds sterling were to be used in purchasing slaves from the Royal African Company. All the live stock needed by young Luke could be obtained in Virginia. ^

There are many evidences that a large number of the immigrants were sprung from English families of sub- stance.^ The instance of John Boys could not have been exceptional; just before he set out for the Colony in 1650, he drew up his will, dividing his valuable possessions among sixteen heirs. ^ There were many persons in Vir- ginia who owned an interest in property in England.^ In 1650, John Catlett and John Clayton of Gloucester County were in the enjoyment of estates in Kent. A few years later, John Clark of York County devised two houses which he owned in Essex, in one of which his father liad long resided.^ John Pen of Rappahannock, in 1676, Avilled landed property in England.'' In 1688, John Smythe of

1 Verney Papers, Camden Society Publications.

2 Letters of William Fitzhugh, Aug. 15, 1690.

3 Tlie instances which follow are given only as examples. They form a very insignificant proportion of the whole number that might be men- tioned.

* New England Historical and Genealogical Begister, April, 1889, p. 153.

5 There were, on the other hand, very many persons in England, be- sides merchants, who owned property in Virginia.

6 Becords of York County, vol. 1657-1662, p. 78, Va. State Library.

■? Becords of Bappahannock County, vol. 166i-1673, p. 95, Va. State Library.

KELATIVE VALUE OF ESTATES 247

York ordered the sale of a farm which he possessed in the vicinity of Walton, with the view of investing the proceeds in a Virginian plantation. ^ Miles Gary owned two houses in Bristol. 2 John Page had an interest for a term of seven years in five tenements situated in the city of Westminster. In 1692, Benjamin Read devised landed property which he possessed in England. ^ Nicholas Spencer left a valu- able estate in Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Essex.* The inventories belonging to the period preceding 1650, upon which we have to rely to obtain a just con- ception of the size of the personal holdings in Virginia in that age, were comparatively few in number. The records of York alone throw any real light upon the point in inquiry. The largest estate in this county ap- praised by order of court previous to the middle of the century was that of William Stafford, which amounted to 30,681 pounds of tobacco in value, which, at the rate of two pence a pound,^ was equal to £250, or in pur- chasing power perhaps to about six thousand dollars at the present day. The personal estate of Thomas Deacon follows next in size at an appraisement of 19,313 pounds

1 Records of York County, vol. 1687-1691, p. 100, Va. State Library.

2 General Court Orders, Bobinson Transcripts, p. 257.

3 Records of York County, vol. 1690-1694, John Page, p. 132 ; Read, p. 257. James Blaise of Middlesex County owned an interest in a lease- hold in Pall Mall, London. Original vol. 1698-171.3, p. 49.

* New England Historical and Genealogical Register, January, 1891, p. 67.

5 It is impossible to follow the exact fluctuations in the price of tobacco from year to year. It maintained an average rate ranging from one and a half to two pence a pound. Fitzhugh, in the account of his property given in the first note to the present chapter, places the value at the time at which he was writing at ten shillings a hundred-weight, or one and one- fifth pence a pound. In the chapter on Agricultural Development, 1685- 1700, I have given references which would seem to show that Fitzhugh's estimate was extremely conservative. In the present chapter, I adopt two pence as the average price, as being within the highest limit possible.

248 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

of tobacco, or £161. The personal estate of Francis Carter was inventoried at 13,728 pounds of tobacco, or about twenty-seven thousand pence. ^

Passing to the period that followed the middle of the century, and still confining our attention to York, it is found that in the interval between 1657 and 1662, the largest personal estate appraised by order of court was that of Colonel Thomas Ludlow in 1659. It was valued at 118.598 pounds of tobacco, which at the rate of two pence a pound Avas equal to £988, or in purchasing power perhaps to about twenty-five thousand dollars in American currency. He owned in the form of sums due to him as debts, X149. The personal estate of Francis Wheeler, consisting principally of tobacco due him, was appraised at X1123 13s. 4cZ., from which a deduction of <£379 10s. is to be made for his own obligations. ^ The remaining personal estates inventoried in York during the same interval in no case exceeded X500, and only in few instances rose as high as X 140.3 jj^ ^j^g course of the eight years between 1664 and 1672, the largest per- sonal estate appraised was that of John Hubbard; it Avas valued at <£722, independently of a large amount due him in coin and tobacco.* The estates following next in point of size were those of Matliew Hubbard, Richard Holt, and James Moore. The personalty of neither ex- ceeded <£200. In the interval between 1672 and 1690, the largest personal estate brought before court was that of James Vaulx, which was valued at X642, equal in pur- chasing power perhaps to about fourteen thousand five

1 Becords of York County, vol. 1638-1618, Stafford, p. 186 ; Deacon, p. 372 ; Carter, p. 376 ; Va. State Library.

2 Ibid., vol. 1657-1662, Ludlow, p. 280 ; Wheeler, p. 300. It is difficult to discover the exact value of the Wheeler estate.

^ Ibid., pp. 60,64, 402.

* Ibid., voh 1664-1672, p. 324.

RELATIVE VALUE OF ESTATES 249

hundred dollars. This did not include the debts due him. The personalty of Jonathan Newell was appraised at £554; in addition, there was a very large sum due him in tobacco. The personal estate of Edward Phelps was valued at X455; of Mrs. Elizabeth Bushrod, at £355; of Robert Cobbs, at £235;i and of Francis Mathews, at £220.2 'pj^Q appraisement of the personalty of Major James Goodwyn amounted to X542, and of Mrs. Rowland Jones to £440.^ The largest personal estates inventoried in York subsequent to 1690 were those of Mrs. Elizabeth Digges and Nathaniel Bacon, Sr. The first was valued at £1102; the second at £925, exclusive of live stock.*

Passing to the personal estates appraised by order of court in Rappahannock, it is found that the records of that county, which are unusually voluminous, show very few that were notable in size. The three largest were those of William Travers, George Jones, and William Fauntleroy. The personalty of Travers amounted to 285,861 pounds of tobacco, or about £2382, a sum per- haps equal in purchasing power to fifty thousand dollars in American currency; the personalty of George Jones, to 108,308 pounds of tobacco; and of William Fauntleroy, to 30,828 pounds of the same commodity. Valuing a pound at two pence, these latter quantities represented an appraisement of £902 and £252 respectively.^

The most important personal estates in Lower Norfolk county in the course of the interval between 1650 and

^ Eecords of York County, vol. 1075-1(584, Vaulx, p. 300; Newell p. 142 ; Phelps, p. 175 ; Bushrod, p. 339 ; Va. State Library. The Phelps appraisement is exclusive of tobacco debts.

2 Ibid, vol. 1671-1694, p. 130.

3 Ibid., vol. 1687-1691, Goodwyn, p. 60 ; Jones, p. 381.

* Ibid., Digges, vol. 1090-1694, p. 217 ; Bacon, vol. 1694-1697, p. 201. 5 Records of Bappahannock County, vol. 1677-1682, pp. 55, 74, 108. Large debts in tobacco were due both Jones and Fauntleroy.

250 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

1700 were those of Cornelius Lloyd, valued at 131,041 pounds of tobacco ; of Henry Woodhouse, at 64,034 pounds; of William Moseley, at 69,270 pounds; of Adam Keeling, at 102,222 pounds; of John Okeham, at 27,984 pounds; of John Sibsey, at 68,313 pounds; of Lawrence Phillips, at 81,371 pounds; of Robert Hodges, at five hun- dred and ten pounds sterling; of William Porteus, at six hundred and sixty-six pounds sterling; of Lewis Conner, at five hundred and sixty-seven pounds sterling; and of John Machen, at two hundred and eighteen pounds sterling. i

In the interval between 1690 and 1700, the largest amount of personal property inventoried in Elizabeth City County in a single case was that of William Mar- shall. It was valued at .£282. The personalty of Jacob Walker was appraised at £17Q.^ One of the most im- portant personal estates which came before court in Lan- caster County in the same interval was that of John Carter, Sr., which was valued at <£2250.^ The personal estate of Robert Beckinghani of the same county was appraised at 342,558 pounds of tobacco, or X2852, which represented perhaps as much as eighty thousand dollars in our American currency.* Beckingham was a merchant, and his whole property probably consisted of personalty. Smaller estates in Lancaster and Westmoreland to which reference may be made were those of David Myles, =£320; ^

1 Eecords of Lower Norfolk Coxintij, original vol. 1651-1656, Lloyd, f. p. 168 ; Sibsey, f. p. 55 ; Phillips, f. p. 148 ; original vol. 1686-1095, Woodhouse, f. p. 25 ; Porteus, f. p. 199 ; original vol. 1666-1675, Moseley, p. 107 ; Machen, p. 10 ; Okeham, p. 81 ; original vol. 1675-1686, Hodges, f. p. 117 ; original vol. 1695-1703, f. p. 137.

2 Becords of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1684-1699, Marshall, p. 300 ; Walker, p. 490.

3 Virginia Magazine of Histoi-y and Biography, vol. II, p. 236.

* Becords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1074-1687, f. p. 36. 5 Ibid., 1674-1689, orders Feb. 8, 1674.

RELATIVE VALUE OF ESTATES 251

of John Washington, £377;^ and of John Pritchard, £476. In addition, the personalty of the hitter included in the form of debts due him .£30 and 101,307 pounds of tobacco.^

The largest personalty appraised in ^liddlesex County by order of court was that of Robert Beverley ; ^ it con- sisted of property amounting in value to £1531 4s. lOc^. To this sum, there are to be added the debts due him in the form of tobacco, 331,469 pounds, and in the form of metallic money, £801. This would mean that Beverley was in the possession of a personal estate that Avould be equivalent to £5000 at least, or in modern figures per- haps to about one hundred and twenty-five thousand dol- lars, rating tobacco at two pence a pound.* The personal estate of Corbin Griffin was valued at £1131, and that of Robert Dudley at £548.^

The personal estates appraised in Henrico previous to the close of the century were comparatively small. The personalty owned by Francis Eppes, who combined the trade of a local merchant with the business of planting, was probably as large in volume as that of any citizen in this county; independently of the value of the contents of his store, which at the least added as much again, it amounted to £302.^ The personalty of Thomas Osborne was inventoried at £208;' of William Glover, at 23,500

1 William and Mary College Quarterly, April, 1893, p. 145.

2 Records of Lancaster County, original vol. 1690-1709, p. 16.

3 See his inventory on file among records of Middlesex County.

* At ten shillings the hundred- vv'eight of tobacco, or li pence a pound, the personalty of this estate vs^ould have been equal to £4537, or about $91,000 in modern values.

^ Eecords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1698-1713, Griffin, p. 136 ; Dudley, p. 99.

fi Records of Henrico County, vol. 1677-1692, p. 93, Va. State Library.

7 Ibid., vol. 1688-1697, p. 350.

252 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

pounds of tobacco ; ^ and of Joliii Davis, at 32,435 pounds of the same commodity. ^

It will be seen from the figures which have been given for the personal estates of the leading planters and mer- chants in half a dozen of the wealthiest counties, that the average accumulation in this species of property was very important for that age and for a newly settled country. In a few cases, the accumulation was extraordinary. Un- fortunately, the records of some of the oldest counties, such, for instance, as those of Charles City and Warwick, have been destroyed, which prevents us from obtaining any information as to the personal estates of planters like the elder William Byrd.

The largest proportion of the property held by citizens of Virginia in the seventeenth century was in the form of land. What was the extent of the area of soil owned by the leading planters? No accurate answer can be given to this question, because it is impossible to say how much each one had inherited or acquired by purchase. The land patent books afford us the only clear light as to the real estate in the possession of individual colonists. Among the most important patentees in the early part of the century were George Menefie and Samuel Mathews.^ Menelie obtained grants for eight thousand four hundred and sixty acres, and Mathews for about nine thousand; each one of these planters was probably in possession of about one-third more landed property acquired by pur- chase or mortgage. John Carter, father and son, of Lan- caster, sued out patents to eighteen thousand five hundred

1 Becords of Henrico County, vol. 1688-1697, p. 281, Va. State Library.

2 Ibid., vol. 1677-1692, p. 283.

3 Adam Thoroughgood, Richard Kemp, and William Claiborne were also patentees of large bodies of laud, amounting in the aggregate to an enormous area.

RELATIVE VALUE OF ESTATES 253

and seventy acres; Nathaniel Bacon, Sr., to five thonsand more or less; John Page, to seven thousand; Richard Lee, to twelve thousand; William Byrd, to fifteen thousand; ^ and finally Robert Beverley, to thirty-seven thousand. The names of a dozen additional colonists of almost equal prominence might be given who had acquired as great an area of soil by public grants, but the instances which have been mentioned are typical of their class. ^ It is probably not going too far to say that the average size of the landed property held by the members of this class was at least five thousand acres.

What was the value of an acre in Virginia in the seven- teenth century ? The basis which we have for an answer to this question is very insufficient. The records of York, between 1633 and 1700, have preserved forty-seven instances in which tracts of land in that county aggre- gating 8664 acres were sold, not for tobacco, the price of which was fluctuating, but for money sterling. The average value of an acre in these forty tracts was slightly in excess of half a pound sterling, the value of the whole being £3131. In Rappahannock, twenty-one tracts covering an area of 11,519 acres brought when sold £1601, or about one-seventh of a pound sterling an acre. In Elizabeth City, twelve tracts aggregating 2094 acres brought £431, or about one-quarter of a pound sterling an acre. In Henrico, twenty-five tracts aggregating 6734 acres brought £632, or about one-tenth of a pound sterling. It is not surprising to find that land in the older counties, like York and Elizabeth City, commanded a

1 These different figures are merely approximate. It is not improba- ble that the planters named obtained by patents a larger area of soil than that stated in each case. These enumerations were made from entries in the land patent books.

- William Fitzhugh possessed over 50,000 acres. See his will, Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. II, p. 27G.

254 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

higher price than in the more newly settled communities of Rappahannock and Henrico. It is probable from the figures given that one-fifth of a pound, or four shillings, in that age perhaps equal in purchasing power to five dollars in our modern currency, represented the average value of an acre on a plantation under cultivation. ^ It must be remembered that the estates of the seventeenth century were for the most part confined to the lowlands adjacent to the streams, which consisted of the most fertile loam. Reduce the four shillings to two in order to be very moderate and apply this standard of value to the real estate owned by Robert Beverley, and it is found that he held landed property to the value of £3700, which at modern rates would perhaps be equivalent to about c£18,.500 or ninety-two thousand five hundred dollars. To be still more moderate, reduce these figures one-half and it will be seen that the whole estate of Beverley, personal and real, amounted to one hundred and seventy-six thou- sand dollars at the least. It would be reasonably safe to say that it was equal in value to two hundred thousand dol- lars, perhaps to two hundred and fifty thousand. ^ When it is recalled that Virginia had only been settled for eighty years when Beverley died, the statement of Lord Balti- more, that fortunes were more easily acquired in this age in that Colony than in England, seems entirely consistent with the fact. The whole property of William Byrd, who made great additions to an inheritance already large, was

1 That is, taking the cleared and uncleared land on such a plantation together. The average value of cleared laud alone in good condition was perhaps twice as high as the figures given.

2 I have reduced the value of the land held by Beverley to the very lowest point, because in a holding amounting to 37,000 acres, an enor- mous proportion must have been covered with forest, and was, therefore, of little practical worth beyond furnishing an almost boundless range for cattle.

RELATIVE VALUE OF ESTATES 255

perhaps more valualjle than the estate of Robert Bever- ley.^ There were fifty, probably one hundred, planters in Virginia at the close of tlie century whose property equalled if it did not exceed fifty thousand dollars.

Robert Beverley, the historian, declared that such was the geniality of the climate of Virginia and such the fer- tility of its soil, that no one there was so sunk in poverty as to be compelled to secure a living by beggary. ^ This statement was doubtless perfectly accurate for the time at which it was made, but it was not entirely true of a period fifty years earlier, when the accumulation of property was not as yet so great. There are several recorded instances in that age in which special licenses Avere granted to mendicants. Such a license was obtained by John Clax- son of York County, whose only property had been de- stroyed by fire, and who had been left with a family of five children without means of support. It is probable that this professional beggar was physically disabled. Similar cases were those of Thomas Bagwell of the Isle of Wight, and Richard New of James City, both, like that of Clax- son, occurring as early as 1653.3 A general complaint arose in 1672, that the neglect into which the vagrant laws had fallen had led to an increase in the number of vaga- bonds, and a statute was passed in consequence looking not only to the suppression of all idlers, but also to set- ting the poor to work.*

1 In the course of four years, William Byrd advanced out of his own pocket, £2955 9s. 8d. to cover deficiencies in the revenues of the Colony. At the time he was auditor-general of Virginia. See Palmer's Calendar of Virginia State Papers, vol. I, p. 58. The early records of the county ill which the inventory of Byrd's personal estate was entered on record are not now in existence.

' Beverley's History of Virginia, p. 223.

3 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 38L

« Ibid., vol. II, p. 298.

256 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

The records of levies disclose the frequency with which assessments were made for the benefit of persons who, from their physical disabilities, were incapable of earning a self- support. The sums of tobacco thus obtained were paid either to the paupers themselves directly, or to some one who had agreed to furnish the person who was the object of charity with food and clothing. ^ In 1668, the Assembly provided for the establishment in each county of a work- house ; 2 this act must have been enforced, for in 1678 the justices of the peace for Lower Norfolk County were in- dicted by the Grand Jury for neglecting to observe it.^ The erection of workhouses was specially recommended to Lord Culpeper in the instructions which he received as Governor in 1679.^ The form of relief generally requested by those who had become impoverished Avas exemption from the payment of county levies ; this privilege was granted if the person seeking it was advanced in age,^ or so lame or so blind as to be incapable of work,^ or was burdened with a large family of children.'''

There were in the course of the seventeenth century many instances in which valuable bequests were made for the benefit of the poor. In 1683, Robert Griggs of Lan- caster left twenty thousand pounds of tobacco to the des- titute of Christ Church Parish in that county, those who had large families to maintain to be preferred;^ George

1 Becords of 3Iicldlesex County, original vol. 1080-1694, Dec. 4, 1693, Jan. 4, 1685, Oct. 4, 1083.

- Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 266. These workhouses were for children. ^ Becords of Lower JSforfoJk County, original vol. 1 675-1680, f. p. 40.

* From this, it would appear that the workhouses which had been in existence had fallen into disuse. It should, however, be remembered that the persons who drew up the Instructions to the Governors showed, in many cases, ignorance of the real condition of the Colony.

s Becords of York County, vol. 1664-1672, p. 416, Va. State Library. 6 Ibid., vol. 1687-1691, p. 50. ^ Ihkl, vol. 16-57-1662, p. 391.

* Becords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1674-1087, p. 91.

• KELATIVE VALUE OF ESTATES 2o (

Spencer of Lancaster, also, left by will ten thousand pounds of tobacco for the same purpose, the objects of his bounty, however, to be chosen from amongst the inhabitants of White Chapel Parish. ^ Corbin Griffin bequeathed fifteen pounds sterling to the poor of Richmond County, and ten pounds to persons in need in Middlesex. ^ John Linney devised his entire estate to the destitute inhabitants of Chiskiack in York. Richard Trotter, of the same county, left one thousand pounds of tobacco to the poor of Charles Parish, while Nathaniel Bacon, Sr., bequeathed twenty pounds sterling to the poor of Hampton Parish.^ In 1698, Robert Scott willed the whole amount of the sums due him by different persons, in the form of tobacco or coin, to indigent persons in Isle of Wight County.* If reliance can be placed upon the statement of Beverle}^ there was little room for the exercise of charity by benev- olent testators towards the close of the century; he declares that he was aware of one case in which a bequest for the benefit of the poor in one of the parishes in Virginia had remained untouched for nine years, because there was no one in the limits of the parish who came within the scope of the testator's intention.^

1 Eecords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1690-1694, f. p. 11. - Will on file among records of Middlesex County. 3 Records of York County, vol. 1694-1702, Linney, p. 10, Trotter, p. 194 ; Bacon, vol. 1690-1694, p. 154, Va. State Library.

* Records of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1695-1703, p. 123.

* Beverley's History of Virginia, p. 223.

CHAPTER XV

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES : FOREIGN I.

In preceding chapters I have referred in detail to the different supplies which were needed for use or consump- tion by people of all classes in the seventeenth century. Where and how were these supplies obtained? When not mere natural products, to what extent had they been manufactured at home or abroad? The most common varieties of food were in most cases of the growth of the soil of the Colony. We have seen that the main subsistence of the slave, the servant, and the master was principally drawn from the plantation itself ; the meats, the vegetables, the flour, the meal, and, in large measure, the fermented liquors which were so freely indulged in, were produced in Virginia. A considerable proportion of the articles of food to be found on the tables of persons of wealth was not secured from their own estates, but had been imported from abroad. This was still more the case with the innumerable articles which made up the house- hold goods of the individual planter, and, in a lesser de- gree, of the implements employed in tilling the ground. Many of these articles were manufactured, as will be here- after shown, in the Colon}^ but the greater number had been brought in by local or foreign merchants, or by the landowners at their own expense. 258

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 259

The importation of English merchandise into Virginia in the seventeentli century for the purpose of meeting the wants of its inhabitants had something more than a local significance. It was the beginning of that vast colonial trade which has performed so momentous a part in in- creasing the wealth of England, and giving her an undis- puted supremacy among commercial nations. Almost from the foundation of the settlement at Jamestown, Virginia was an important dependence of the mother country, not only as a land to which those who desired to establish neW homes could emigrate, but as a community which, as its population expanded, required an ever en- larging volume of artificial supplies. Its steady growth signified a proportionate advance in many branches of English manufacture. With the progress of time, the importance of all the Colonies as places where English goods could be disposed of at a profit, was more clearly recognized, and the benefit that would result to English trade from the exclusion of competition, foreign or domes- tic, from this field, was one of the principal influences | which led to the passage of the Navigation laws, as well as to the prohibition of colonial manufacture on a large scale. As early as 1664, when the second Act of Naviga- tion had been in operation only a few years, the merchan- dise imported into Virginia and ]Maryland was thought to be worth annually ,£200,000, a sum equal in purchasing power, perhaps, to four or five millions of dollars in our modern currency. ^ At the beginning of the Revolution, a hundred and twelve years later, the value of the goods shipped from England each year to her Colonies in North America was estimated at X 2,732,036, a small amount in comparison with the value of the goods imported at the present time by the United States from the same country

1 Archives of Maryland, Proceedings of Council, vol. 1G36-1667, p. 504.

260 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

under a restrictive tariff, but in that age representing an enormous volume of trade. ^

Previous to the issue of patents to associations of private adventurers in 1616, the cost of the transportation of sup- plies to the settlers in Virginia was borne entirely by the London Company or its members, to whom fell whatever profit was to be acquired from the sale of the commodities of the Colony. In the beginning, the expense was met by the Company alone, and from the fund which had been subscribed by the different adventurers who had united themselves under the letters patent obtained by Gates and his associates in 1606. How large was this fund and how great were the individual subscriptions, there are now no means of ascertaining. That the general amount was of notable proportions is to be inferred from the size of the first expedition, and the number of supplies following previous to the grant of the second charter in 1609. The same rule was adopted in the case of the London Company, when it was formed, as in the case of other organizations of similar character ; the adventurer wrote opposite to his name the figures of such a sum as he was prepared to risk, and his j)rofits were to be in propor- tion to it. Under the regulations laid down for the gov- ernment of the Colony, the trade during the first five years was to be confined to three stocks at the most.^ All sup- plies purchased with the money contributed were trans- ported thither as the property of the subscribers as a body. The commodities to be obtained from Virginia, whether in exchange with the Indians or as the product of the industry of the settlers, were to be returned to England

1 Report of a Committee of the Privy Council on the Trade of Great Britain with United States, 1791.

2 Instructions for the Government of the Colonies, Brovra's Genesis of the United States, p. 71.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 261

for sale, and the proceeds divided among the adventurers in proportion to their shares. The power was given to the persons named in the charter of 1606, to arrest all who were found engaged in traffic with the inhabitants, and to detain them if they were English subjects until they had paid two and a half per cent of the goods in which they had been trading, and if they were citizens of foreign states, five per cent.^ Supervision of the articles to be conveyed to the Colony was, by the formal provisions for its government, to be assumed by a committee to be con- stituted of not less than three members, who were in- structed to reside in or near London, or at any other place preferred by the Company. A careful account was to be kept by this committee of tlie various kinds of merchan- dise which should be exported. During a period of seven years, goods to be used for apparel, food, or defence, or for the necessary objects of the plantation, transported from England to Virginia, were to be exempted from all manner of custom and subsidy. For the purpose of preventing an abuse of this valuable privilege by persons who had no real intention of sending the articles which they professed to be exporting thither, but who only wished to escape from the duties imposed upon those who had foreign destina- tions in view, it was provided that if any one should take advantage of this clause in the charter to evade the cus- toms which they ouglit prpperly to pay, and after getting out to sea, direct their course to a land under foreign dominion, not only was the whole cargo to be forfeited, hut the vessel in which it was conveyed was to be con- fiscated. The object of the charter was violated even if the commodities thus designed for an alien country had first been carried into Virginia in order to comply with

1 Charter of 1G06, § XIII, Brown's Genesis of the United Slates, pp. 59-61.

262 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

tlie letter of the law. The goods exported from Eng- land by the Company were, as soon as they reached the Colony, to be stored m a magazine, from which they could be drawn for distribution only upon the warrant of the President and Council, or the Cape Merchant and two clerks who were in immediate charge of the goods. Of the latter trio of officers, the Cape Merchant, as his name discloses, was the chief. He was also the Treasurer of the Colony. 1 In the beginning, it was his duty merely to preserve and guard the contents of the magazine, whether imported from England or produced by the labors of the inhabitants. It was not until a modified right of holding private property was granted that he became an agent in exchanging the goods of the Company or of private adventurers, for the commodities owned by the settlers. Previous to this, he was virtually a mere supercargo. The Cape Merchant was elected to fill the position which he occupied only for twelve months, but he was permitted to be a candidate for reelection, his reelection resting with the President and Council. At the time he was chosen, two clerks were also selected, and they remained, like the Cape Merchant, in office for a period of one year, their position being attended by less responsibility. They also could be reelected. It was the duty of one of the clerks to keep a book in which all the supplies distributed were to be entered, and he as well as his associate could be suspended or removed by the President and Council, or by a majority of the body which they formed.

In the orders in Council drawn up for the guidance of the persons in charge of the expedition of 1607, the preservation and the supervision of the different articles to be conveyed to Virginia was imposed upon Captain

1 Instructions for the Government of the Colonies, Brown's Gejiesis of the United States, p. 72.

MANUFACTUIIED SUPPLIES 263

Newport, who was in command of the fleet. ^ The imme- diate care of these articles, however, fell upon the Cape Merchant. The first person to fill this position was Thomas Studley, who, upon the departure of the vessels which brought the voyagers to Jamestown Island, re- mained in charge of the storehouse, erected, in accord with an order in Council, by a party of men who had been specially detailed for the work.^ Studley perished in the course of the first summer following the founda- tion of the Colony, and was succeeded by Smith. In the interval preceding the arrival of the First Supply, an event which took place in the winter of 1607, the goods imported in the spring had almost entirely disappeared. The oil and vinegar, sack and aquavitse, had been con- sumed, with the exception of the few gallons reserved for religious services and for persons stricken with extreme illness.^ Many other commodities had been allowed by Wingfield, the President, to be dispersed in bartering with the Indians, or in making gifts to them.* The First Supply reached Jamestown in January in the charge of Newport, and it consisted of a great variety of articles thought by the Company in England to be necessary for the protection or subsistence of the settlers. Included among the articles of food were biscuits, one of which was given to each workingman at breakfast. ^ Newport had been at Jamestown only a few days when . a fire, which had its origin in the cargo so recently brought over, broke out, and proved very destructive, more especially to the victuals and clothing of individual colonists. The serious

1 Orders in .Council, Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 76.

2 ma., p. 82 ; Percy's Discourse, p. Ixxii.

3 Works of Capt. John Smith, p. Ixxviii.

* A Discourse of Virginia, Worls of Capt. John Smith, p. Ixxxi. ^ Ibid., p. Ixxxiii.

264 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

character of the loss in the matter of apparel is disclosed in a letter written at this time by Francis Perkins, to a friend in England, in which he urges that all cast- off garments in the possession of this friend, doublets, trousers, stockings, and caps, should be sent to him in Virginia to provide him with means of hiding his naked- ness.^ The fire would probably have consumed the whole of the Supply if a part had not been detained on board the vessel. A large quantity of beef, pork, fish, butter, cheese, aquavitce, beer, and oil, imported for the use of the settlers, was consumed by the sailors, who were per- mitted to remain at Jamestown with their commander nearly four months longer than at first was intended, merely in order that they might share in the profit of discovering ores of precious metals. When the ship sailed at last, Newport could spare only a small amount of biscuit, pork, fish, and oil, after having sold a large quantity of these articles of food to those persons among the colonists who were so fortunate as to have money or surplus clothing, furs, or rings, or who were able to give bills of exchange on England. At this time, the great mass of the settlers subsisted on bread and water. The Phoenix, which ought to have arrived in January in com- pany with the vessel commanded by Newport, did not reach Virginia until the following April. The supplies contained in it were distributed among the colonists.^

The Company found great difficulty in securing the funds necessary to purchase and send out the Second Supply, which arrived at Jamestown in the autumn of 1608 in two ships. ^ A storehouse in anticipation of it

1 Letter of Francis Perkins, Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 176.

2 Works of Capt. John Smith, pp. 103-105.

3 Zuniga to Philip III, Spanish Archives, Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 172.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 265

had been erected for its accommodation. A private trade sprang up at once between the sailors and the colonists, and between the sailors and the Indians, the colonists acting as factors. A strong complaint was made that the articles which should have gone to the settlers with- out any charge, were thus disposed of to the private advantage of persons who belonged to the vessels. The hatchets, chisels, mattocks, and pickaxes, forming an im- portant part of the Second Supply, were dispersed among the aborigines. Knives and pike-heads, shot and powder, disappeared into the same hands, a return being made through tlie secret agency of the colonists, in skins, baskets, and wild animals. One mariner alone is stated to have obtained by this means, furs which netted him thirty pounds sterling in England. The articles sold in an underhand way to the settlers by the sailors of the Second Supply were butter, cheese, beef, pork, biscuit, oatmeal, beer, and aquavitte. There are indications that a large quantity of wheat was imported in this Supply. It had been deposited in casks as a protection, being intended for food, or, as seems most probable, for seed ; this wheat in a few months had either rotted or been consumed by rats which had found their way into Vir- ginia in the English vessels. ^ A part of the Second Supply was also made up of clothing ; this was especially needed on account of the destruction of so much private apparel in the fire that broke out at Jamestown during the previous winter. Both in the First and Second Supphes there were doubtless consignments of garments to individual colonists from their relatives in England. In this way, George Percy received in 1608 from his brother, the Earl of Northumberland, articles of dress estimated to be worth about ten pounds sterling, perhaps

1 Works of Capt. John Smith, pp. 121, 127, 128, 155.

266 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

as much as two hundred and fifty dollars in American currency, a quantity which must have been considered very large even for a nobleman. ^ The urgent request which Perkins had made of members of the Cornwallis family with reference to discarded clothes was very prob- ably complied with on the occasion of the Second Supply. The great difficulty which the Company, according to the account of the Spanish ambassador in London at the time, had found in securing the means for the purchase of the goods in the Second Supply, had quite probably the chief influence in creating the demand for the second char- ter, which was finally granted in May, 1609. Under the provisions of this charter, the fifty-six city companies of London and six hundred and fifty or more persons united themselves into a corporation of private adventurers for the advancement of the plantation. Among them, were many men of very large and many of very small fortunes. About one-third paid into the general fund thirty-seven pounds and ten shillings or more apiece; another third paid individually less than this sum, while the remainder failed to make payments at all.^ The city companies did not contribute simply as incorporated bodies. In the records of the Grocers' Company, there is a receipt show- ing that sixty-nine pounds sterling had been placed with the warden by members to be invested for their private benefit in bills of adventure in the Virginian undertaking. These sums appear to have been subscribed at regular meetings of the Company, each member being left to bind himself for whatever amount his own inclinations sug- gested. The names of those refusing to do so were care- fully taken down. The Mercers' Company agreed to

1 Memoranda (1607-1608) of Ninth Earl of Northumberland, Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 178.

2 Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 228.

MANUFACTDllED SUrPLIES 267

adventure two hundred pounds sterling. The Cloth- workers subscribed, as a body, one hundred marks, and the members seemed to have subscribed individually. The Fishmongers appear also to have been liberal in taking shares. In some instances, these trade associations not only contributed money, but also merchandise,^ tlie differ- ent persons who constituted them being probably some- what influenced by the prospect of selling to the London Company the goods in their special line of business needed for the supply of the Colony. ^ The first suggestion that each city company should take shares in the London was made in the form of a letter from the latter to the Lord Mayor, in wdiich, in return for contributions, bills of adventure were promised to be drawn for the benefit of such as would subscribe. It was even proposed that the different wards should become shareholders. Upon the receipt of this letter, the Mayor sent out his precept to the master and warden of each company, requiring them to summon the members to meet with a view of making individual subscriptions.^ The Council of Virginia at this time were content to seek assistance from the com- panies of London, but at a later period overtures were made to towns in other parts of the kingdom.

The strong inducements offered to obtain shareholders whose contributions would be expended in the purchase of supplies for the Colony are set forth in the contempo- raneous pamphlet, Nova Britannia. It was fully antici-

1 Brown's Genesis of the United States, pp. 252, 257, 258, 280, 389.

2 Works of Capt. John Smith, p. 929: "Most of the tradesmen in London that would adventure but 12£ 10 sh.," wrote Smith, " had the furnishing the Company of all such things as belonged to his trade ; such juggling there was betwixt them and such intruding Committees, their associates, that all the trash they could get in London was sent us in Virginia."

■^ Brown's Genesis of the United States, pp. 252, 254.

268 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

pated by its author, in which opinion he was not alone, that it would be necessary to make but two more consign- ments of articles to Virginia, the returns from which were expected to be so large that not only would there be an ample fund for the purchase of the Third Supply, but there would be a surplus to be reserved for the share- holders. To assure a profit upon all the merchandise to be thereafter sent over, the right was to be enjoyed by the Company of holding a monopoly of the commodities of the Colony for a period of seven years from the date of the second charter. No division was to be made of the gain to be derived during this period from the labor of the settlers or by trade with the Indians until the seven years had expired, at which time it was anticiiDated that the capital to be distributed among the shareholders would be vory large; the amount to be received by each one was to be further increased by the division of land to take place at the close of the same period, each shareholder being entitled to an area of soil in proportion to the amount of his stock. The distribution of the common property in money and land was to be made in 1616.^

The terms of the charter of 1609 differed in some respects from those of the charter of 1606 with reference to trade. The exemption from subsidies and customs and all forms of taxation was extended from seven to twenty- one years. The duty to be paid by English subjects, not members of the Company, who imported goods into Vir- ginia, was increased from two and a half per cent to five, and in case of aliens, from five per cent to ten. The priv- ilege of exporting supplies to the Colony untaxed was not curtailed in its practical enjoyment. In the month in which the charter of 1609 received the final seal of the King, a general order was issued by the Earl of Salisbury,

t 1 Nova Britannia, pp. 23-25, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. I.

MANUFACTURED SUri'LIES 269

addressed to the officers who had charge of the customs, in which they were instructed to permit every commodity designed for Virginia to leave their ports free from all imposition;! this was intended to have direct application to the fleet making ready to sail for Virginia under the conduct of Sir Thomas Gates and now lying in the harbor of Plymouth. The eight ships and the pinnace constituting the fleet carried over the Third Supply to the Colony, which differed from the two preceding it only in quantity, being made up principally of food and apparel purchased with the funds contributed by the personal and corporate members of the Company in the manner already described. The flag-ship, in which one-fourth of the persons employed in the fleet and the greater part of the jDrovisions were to be transported, was separated from the other vessels by a hurricane and finally wrecked upon the islands of Bermuda. The remainder arrived in Virginia safely. Previous to this event. Captain ArgoU had reached the Colony on a fisliing expedition, having in his ship a large supply of wine and biscuit designed for private trade ; the necessities of the people at Jamestown being very urgent at this time, the provisions had been seized and consumed. ^ The sup- ply brought in by the fleet was very small. After the departure of the vessels in the following October, although the maize planted by Smith had been recently gatliered,^ there intervened the frightful Starving Time, in which the greater number of the colonists perished. Somers and Gates, who had contrived means of escape from the Ber- mudas, reached Virginia in May, and finding the settlers plunged into the deepest misery, which they were unable to relieve with their insignificant cargo of provisions,

1 Brown's Geiiesis of the United States, p. 307.

2 Works of Capt. John Smith, p. 159.

3 Ibid., pp. 167, 170.

270 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

embarked the whole number on board of their vessel and dropped down the river on their way to Newfoundland, but were met, before they had reached the Capes, by Lord Delaware in a fleet of three ships.

It had been intended, after the departure from England of Sir Thomas Gates in the spring of 1609, to dispatch Lord Delaware to Virginia in the following August with ten vessels, and for the purpose of raising the funds re- quired to purchase this additional supply, various expe- dients were used. Among the other steps taken, Captain Thomas Holcroft was authorized to visit the United Prov- inces in order to interest the English subjects residing in that country in the enterprise, to the extent of adventur- ing in it their persons or their means. All who should contribute to the supply to be sent in charge of Delaware were to receive the liberties and privileges of the Company in the same degree as if they had belonged to that body from its beginning. Upon them also were to be conferred, in proportion to the amount of their subscriptions, shares in the lands of Virginia and in the accumulated capital of the corporation, when the first division of both took place in 1616, previous to a general distribution among the mem- bers. The right to enter into private commercial relations with the colonists after 1616 was granted to each person con- tributing to the funds of the Company, who should desire to trade in the expectation that it would be profitable. ^

The return to England in the autumn of 1609 of what remained of the fleet which had set out in the spring of the same year under such favorable auspices, had, on account of the discouraging reports brought over, the effect of diminishing interest in the enterprise, on the part of those who, if the issue had been more fortunate, would

1 Instructions to Holcroft, Brown's Genesis of the United States, pp. 317, 318.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 271

have contributed liberally to its support. Ratcliffe, in his letter to Salisbury, sent to England at this time, recom- mended that provisions for one year should be forwarded to Virginia, but it had now become difficult to secure the means for the purchase of supplies. The managers of the Company nevertheless were not to be daunted by the calamities of the expedition under Gates, upon which so many hopes had been founded ; barely a fortnight after the vessels that had gone out in this expedition reached England, they issued the True and Sincere Declaration, in which a powerful appeal was made to every instinct of the English people, religious, political, and material, to induce them to contribute to the advancement of the enterprise, in spite of the repeated disasters that had over- taken it.i This appeal was followed up doubtless by still more active and direct measures for securing the necessary funds. It proved highly effective. In April, 1610, Dela- ware sailed from England to Virginia with a fleet of three vessels, laden with cargoes purchased in a measure by his own contributions to the treasury of the Company. The additional money required had been adventured by other shareholders. As soon as Delaware had reestablished the Colony at Jamestown, he ordered Gates to proceed to Eng- land to obtain the articles for which provision had at the time of his own departure from the mother country been made, at least in part.^ It was during this visit that Gates was summoned before the Council in London and questioned as to the advisability of abandoning the enter- prise, the Council being very much discouraged by his failure to bring with him, on his return, commodities, by

' True and Sincere Declaration, Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 339.

■^ Zuuiga to Philip III, Spanish Archives, Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 386.

272 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIIIGINIA

the sale of which, the expense of the supplies to be sent to Virginia could be met.^ Among those who had contrib- uted to the fund covering the charges for these supplies, were probably several of the city companies, subscribing in the persons of their members, and, in some instances, as incorporated bodies. The Grocers' Company advent- ured one hundred pounds sterling. The Mercers posi- tively refused to contribute further for the advancement of the Plantation, and in this course they were doubtless followed by other corporations to which similar appeals had been made.^ In December, 1610, the ship Hercules sailed to Virginia with a cargo of supplies, and a few weeks later was followed by Sir Thomas Dale with a fleet of three vessels, containing a great abundance of victuals and furniture. In the following spring. Sir Thomas Gates set out for Jamestown in command of three ships and three caravels, with an equal quantity of provisions of all kinds for the colonists.

The funds with which the supplies forwarded to Virginia in the care of Gates had been purchased were procured in large part by circular letters addressed to private persons and city companies. Towns were invited to subscribe in their corporate capacity as well as in tlie name of particular citizens, the hope being confidently extended that the enterprise would now have great suc- cess. It was proposed to send to Virginia, in the course of the following two years, three cargoes valued at thirty thousand pounds sterling; of this amount, eighteen thou- sand had been raised previous to February, 1611, and it was expected to secure the remainder from the gentry, merchants, and cities of the kingdom. Of the subscrip- tions made by private persons, not one was less than

1 Works of Capt. John Smith, p. 504.

2 Brown's Genesis of the United States, pp. 389, 391, 442.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 273

thirty-seven pounds and ten shillings; in some cases, they ran to a figure as high as one hundred aud seventy-five pounds. Noblemen and the companies of London sub- scribed five thousand of the eighteen thousand pounds sterling collected. ^

During the time that Gates and Dale were in control in Virginia, the martial laws, drawn from the military administration of the Low Countries, were in operation, and were particularly effective in ensuring the preser- vation of the imported supplies. These supplies appear to have been still in the keeping of a Cape Merchant. Among those who were named by Lord Delaware as having been appointed by himself in the previous year to positions under him, no Cape Merchant is mentioned, although the clerks who were required to be associated with him are referred to.^ By the martial laws, the fullest regulations were established for the guidance of such an officer, and for his punishment in case he mis- appropriated the stores placed under his charge ; ^ if he embezzled, sold, or gave away any article belonging to these stores, or made out a false account when he pre- sented his report to the Governor, he rendered himself liable to the penalty of death. If any private person carried off the victuals or arms, linen or woollen clothing, hose or shoes, hats or caps, instruments or tools in the care of the Cape Merchant, he exposed himself to the same extreme punishment. That this was not a provision designed in terrorem simply, is revealed in the fact that

1 Circular Letter of the Virginia Council, Lists of Subscribers, Brown's Genesis of the United States, pp. 463-469.

'^ Council in Virginia to the Virginia Company, Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 408. Two clerks, Daniel Tucker and Robert Wild, were appointed by Delaware on his arrival in the Colony.

3 Lawes, Divine, Morall and Martiall, p. 13, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. IIL

274 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

on one occasion a colonist who had committed a robbery upon the store was bound to a tree and suffered to perish by starvation.! Culprits of this kind, it is probable, were usually hung, the harshness in this special case being doubtless exemplary. In order to put an end to the serious evils resulting from the unlicensed trading be- tween the sailors on the ships arriving in the James River, and the colonists on shore, the seamen bartering cheese and biscuit, meal, bacon, oil, butter, spice, and aquavitce for the clothing, furniture, instruments, tools, and implements of the settlers, it was provided that all mariners who made this exchange should not only be deprived of the goods thus obtained and forfeit the en- tire amount of their wages, but should also be publicly whipped according to the verdict of the court-martial which should find the charge to be true. If the exchange had been at an unconscionable price, advantage being taken of the necessities of the inhabitants, death was to be the punishment. Proclamations setting forth the legal rates in the sale of all commodities were attached to the masts of every vessel that arrived, and this was to be taken as sufficient notice of the consequences of an extreme vio- lation of the law, but it was, at the same time, no justi- fication for buying without authority the articles specified, even at approved valuations.^ In spite of the more care- ful administration enforced by Gates and Dale, there appears to have been at times a great lack of necessary supplies. Molina, writing in 1613, after a detention of two years in Virginia, refers to the wretched clothing of the colonists. He describes his own dress as being

1 Briefe Declaration of the Plantation of Virginia, Colonial Becords of Virginia, State Senate Doct., Extra, 1874, p. 74.

- Lawes, Divine, Morall and Martiall, p. 14, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 275

in a state of sncli raggedness as to leave liim virtually naked. 1

In 1612, the third charter was granted ; in this the names of many additional adventures were inserted, the greater proportion of whom belonged to the gentry. The largest amount subscribed in any individual case was thirty-seven pounds and ten shillings sterling. Under the terms of this charter, the goods exported from Eng- land for use in Virginia were exempted from all duties for a period of seven years. A much more important clause authorized the officers of the Company to establish one or more lotteries to be held during twelve months, un- less it was the pleasure of the King that they should con- tinue for a longer time. At least six months' warning was to be allowed after the expiration of the year. The right to hold lotteries was granted without regard to any special city, and such prizes and conditions were to be prescribed as seemed advisable to the members. The Company was empowered to name the persons who were to take charge of the drawings, and no interference with the performance of the duties assigned to them was to be attempted by any public officer or private individual.^ The bestowal of the right to hold lotteries is an indication of the great difficulty found, after the various discourage- ments which had occurred, in raising funds by subscription in order to send supplies to Virginia. It was accepted at the time as an evidence of the loss of faith in the profitable character of the enterprise.^ Whether those in charge of the affairs of the Company looked at it in this light ! or not, they proceeded with great promptness and energy

1 Molina to Velasco, Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 651.

2 Third Cliarter, Brown's Genesis of the United States, pp. 552, 553.

3 Digby to Carleton, May 22, 1013, Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 634.

276 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

in turning to account this ngw means of procuring money for the purpose they had in view. Books containing in- structions were sent to the mayors of the different cities of England, with the request that they would urge the scheme upon the attention of their townsmen. Other books were prepared and stamped with the general seal, in which all who desired to invest in the lottery entered their names, with such sums attached as they should de- cide to risk. Lots were purchased not only by individ- uals, but also by churches and corporations. The first drawing began in June, 1612, and ended by the 20th of July, five thousand pounds sterling being distributed in prizes. From this lottery, the Company obtained sixty thousand ducats, for the purchase of supplies. A small standing lottery for the same purpose was erected in the winter of 1613, the announcement being made that it was no longer necessary to send victuals to Virginia, and that the goods to be shipped thither were to be restricted to clothing. 1

So far, not less than forty-six thousand pounds sterling, obtained by private contributions or from lotteries, had been expended for the advancement of the Plantation. The Company now determined, as a means of increasing their funds, to bring suit in Chancery against all the ad- venturers who were derelict in turning over the full amount of their subscriptions; a bill was drawn and presented in April, 1613, in which it was stated that on many occasions when the treasury was empty, the Com- pany had been compelled to raise money by pledging its credit in the expectation that the amount would be re- funded by the payment of the claims against those mem- bers who had refused to deliver the sums for which tliey

1 For these various details, see documents publisiied in Brown's Genesis of the United States, pp. 555, 560, 561, 570, 572, 575, 591, 608.

MANUFACTUEED SUPPLIES 277

were bound over their signatures, or who had deferred doing so for an indefinite period. The delinquents in- cluded many very prominent persons. The suit against them was successful, about four thousand pounds sterling being thus secured. ^ In October, the ship Elizabeth left England for Virginia with provisions of different kinds, purchased, not improbably, with this sum. In the spring of 1614, a tract showing the condition of the Colony and setting forth the plan of a great lottery was issued, copies of which, accompanied by a letter from the Privy Coun- cil, were sent to all the city comj)anies in London ; ^ a strong appeal was made in this letter to induce their members to adventure in the proposed scheme. The need of some means of raising money was now so great that a proposition to yield up its patent was seriously entertained by the Company. With a view to obtaining the support of the state, a petition was presented to Par- liament, but like all the measures of the same session, did not come to a final decision. ^ The response of the vari- ous city companies to the appeal of the Privy Council was so successful, that in February, 1615, a second letter was dispatched to the different cities and towns of the kingdom.* A Declaration was now issued by the Lon- don ComjDany in which it was announced that the present standing lottery would be the last erected for the benefit of the Plantation. Special inducements were offered to all wlio would take lots amounting to twelve pounds, ten shillings or more; to such persons, provided they would

1 Brooke to Ellesmere, Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 630 ; Cliamberlain to Carleton, Ibid., p. 055.

2 Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 685.

3 Extract from Commons' Journal, Buown's Genesis of the United States, p. 689. Ibid., pp. 692, 696.

■* Neill's Virginia Vetusta, p. 199.

278 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

remit any prize which they might win, bills of adventure would be given, entitling them to a proportionate share in the lands of the Colony when distributed, and in the profit of the capital to be divided. Members of the Lon- don Company who had failed to pay their subscriptions in full, were to be entirely exempted if they risked double the value of the shares in which they were delin- quent ; a failure to claim their prizes conferred on them a right to additional bills of adventure for the entire amount which they had expended in the lottery. ^ With a view to securing at the earliest date a sum of money to enable the Company to send supplies to the Colony, all persons who paid three pounds sterling into the lottery were to receive a silver spoon, valued at six shillings and eight pence, or that amount in coin was to be returned to them without diminishing the sum they had ventured. The lottery was drawn in November, 1615. The extent to which the city companies of London and its citizens as well as the people of the other towns took lots must have been considerable, though it probably fell short of the hope that had been entertained. ^ In the meanwhile, the Company had not failed to send out supplies to Vir- ginia. In the Declaration issued in February, 1615, it was stated that this body had very lately dispatched two instalments of men and provisions, including also cloth- ing.^ Argoll had captured in his expedition to Port Royal a large quantity of various articles which were of great service to the Colony.*

1 A Declaration for the Lottery, Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 763.

2 See extracts from records of Dover and Wycombe, Brown's Genesis of the United States, pp. 768, 769.

3 A Declaration for the Lottery, Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 762.

* Works of Capt. John Smith, p. 517.

MANUFACTCrilED SUPPLIES 279

In 1616, the period of seven years during wliicli the stock of the Company to be accumulated by a monopoly of the trade of the Colony was to remain undivided, drew to a close. The returns from the enterprise had been so small,^ that the profits, which were to be allowed to grow, were never realized ; those who had adventured their money in supporting it, found their recompense only in the distribution of lands, conveyed in successive divi- dends as the country was cleared of forest. In this sub- division, all persons shared in proportion to their bills of adventure, whether they had invested many years before or but recently. 2 When the period of seven years ended in 1616, the Company was compelled, owing to the lack of funds in its treasury, to adopt a new method for fur- nishing the colonists with the different articles which they were forced to import to meet their necessities. There was erected what was described as the " Society of Particular Adventurers for Traffic with the People of Virginia in Joint Stock." Instead of the supplies being forwarded in the name of the Company, they were now sent in the name of the Magazine ; to which the members could contribute such sums as they were willing to vent- ure in their individual capacity. It was practically an association of private persons, among whom were divided the returns in proportion to the amounts which they risked. The general Company was not prevented from investing the common funds in the Magazine; if it did so, it shared in the profits and losses like an ordinary adventurer.^

1 Extract from the Trade's Increase, Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 706.

" A Briefe Declaration, Brown's Genesis of the United States, pp. 778, 779.

3 Orders and Constitutions, 1619-1G20, pp. 23, 24, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III.

280 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

The affairs of the Magazine were administered by a director, who was assisted by a committee of five council- lors; it was so far subject to the supervision of the Com- pany, that its accounts were required to be passed upon by auditors specially nominated at a Quarter Court. The adventurers, however, held separate meetings, at which all routine business was transacted. ^

No outside trader at this time could send supplies to the Colony, the regulation being as strict after the adop- tion of the new joint stock as it was previous to 1616. ^ Doubtless, however, the general rule was modified now, as it was under the Orders and Constitutions of 1619, which permitted any one, whether connected with the Company or not, to import cattle, grain, and munition into Vir- ginia if the members of that body, when requested by the Quarter Court, declined or failed to subscribe to the Magazine. 3 The vessels which before this year had carried supplies to the Colony, had also brought in a large number of persons who proposed to reside in Virginia. The ship now conveying the articles purchased by the adventurers who entered into the joint stock, was known as the magazine ship, and its loading was confined to goods and

1 ColUngicood 3IS. Becords of London Company, in Congressional Library, vol. I, pp. 22, 50. The first director was Alderman Johnson, who showed at this time the unscrupulous qualities which at a later period distinguished him so conspicuously as a member of the Warwick faction. In 1G19, he was charged with diverting to the Magazine, funds which belonged to the Company. This had been done by him first in 1617, the sum being £341 1.3s. 4(Z., and afterwards in 1618, when he appropriated for the Magazine the money obtained from the sale of ihe tobacco produced in the common garden. See Ibid., p. 26.

2 A broadside, issued in 1616-17, gave permission to persons in Eng- land to send private supplies to their friends in Virginia. Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 798.

3 Orders and Constitutions of 1619, p. 23, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 281

to the few men who were appointed to take charge of them both before and after their arrival at Jamestown. The first magazine ship was the Susan, a vessel of small size. Its cargo was restricted to clothing, of which the Colony at all times stood in great need, apparel being only pro- curable from England. 1 The goods in the /Susan were placed in the care of Abraham Piersey as Cape Merchant, both during the voyage and after Virginia was reached. The Cape Merchant who came over in the magazine ship Avas not simply a supercargo ; he was also the factor of the subscribers to the joint stock, who relied upon his integ- rity and faithfulness in exchanging the articles they sent over, at the rates agreed upon beforehand. At this time, the only commodities produced in the Colony which assured a profit Avhen sold in England were tobacco and sassafras; for them alone the contents of the magazine ship were exchanged, and for that reason, the members of the joint stock sought to confine their monopoly in the trade of Virginia only to these products. Piersey returned to England in the Susan, but in the following year he came back in the G-eorge, the second magazine ship of which he had charge in the capacity of Cape Merchant. ^ The cargo of this vessel was probably not larger than that of the Susan, but it was delayed five months in the out- ward voyage, which caused the articles brought over in it to arrive in bad condition.^

1 Briefe Declaration of the Plantation of Virginia, Colonial Records of Virginia, State Senate Doct., Extra, 1874, p. 77.

2 Va. Land Patents, vol. 1623-1643, p. 19.

^ Works of Capt. John Smith, p. 536. The following " Reasons touch- ing the most convenient time and season of ye year for ye magazine ship to set forth from England towards Virginia," are taken from Records of Jno. Rolfe, secretary and receiver- general, Register Book, No. 41, in the manuscript, Ch. 23, No. 221, now preserved in the library of the Supreme Court at Washington, which formed a part of Mr. Jefferson's

282 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

Piersey, as soon as he reached Virginia, delivered to ArgoU, who at that time was at the head of affairs in the Colony, letters with which he had been entrusted, placing his authority in disposing of the goods of the Magazine upon the same footing as that of the Governor. ^ This excited the warm indignation of Argoll, who noAV pro- ceeded to treat with contempt the command of the Com- pany in England, that the tobacco and sassafras should 1 e reserved to be exchanged for the merchandise imported in the magazine ship. In spite of the severe laws introduced by Gates and Dale, condemning with the utmost severity all bartering between the captains and mariners of vessels and the settlers, Argoll permitted the former, as well as the passengers in their ships, to buy up all the tobacco and sassafras that they could obtain, thus seriously diminish- ing if not dissipating the supply upon which the Cape Merchant had depended for the profitable disposition of

library, purchased by Congress ; they a,re also in Eandolph MSB., vol. Ill, p. 1.39, Virginia Historical Society Manuscript Collections. "1. To "be here (Virginia) in September, start in June, at which time corn "and tobacco are harvested. 2. After September, goods can be landed " or shipt without great hazard. 3. Because there being few tailors, " people will not be able to get their clothes in time for winter. 4. You " (that is, the Company) will then have the best tobacco. 5. Your " ships will get home by Candlemas, before the East India ships set "out, which will help ye speedy venting of your tobacco. 6. If the " ships fail to arrive before March, our seed time, we cannot afford to " attend to the Magazine. 7. For want of boats, it will be fourteen days' " loss to a man in transportation of goods, in which time he may lose all " his corn and tobacco. 8. If your ships return after April, the heat of " the hole will hurt the tobacco. 9. Furnish the Magazine with more than ' ' is needed in the present and let a continual trade be on foot, and then " at the arrival of your shipping, you will have a cargo of commodities " ready, which will be soon despatched. 10. If you grant more commis- " sions for general trade, as you have to Captain Martin, (of Martin's " Hundred, which enjoyed special privileges and immunities) you will "overthrow the Magazine."

1 Randolph MSS., vol. Ill, p. 140.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 283

the goods in the Magazine. Moreover, the free trade inaugurated by the Governor destroyed all uniformity in the rates of purchase, upon which the adventurers in the joint stock had relied for their margin of gain.^ ArgoU was undoubtedly influenced in this independent course by a spirit of the grossest selfishness. His general career as Executive was in keeping with this open violation of the orders which he had received from his superior officers in England. It is, however, an open question as to what extent a conscientious person in his position might have thought that a free exchange of the products of Virginia for the merchandise of any trader who might come for- ward to barter, was more promotive of the best interests of the inhabitants, even at this early period, than the monop- oly enjoyed by the adventurers of the jNIagazine, who had the countenance and the aid of the Company itself. There was no difference of opinion as to Argoll's action among the great body of the members, those not immediately interested in the Magazine holding the same views as those who were. The Magazine, they declared with great earnestness, was the prop of the Plantation and the life of the adventurers. To destroy the profit expected of it by allowing an absolute free commerce was to deprive the Colony, still in a state of infancy, of an annual supply which could be relied on with the fullest confidence. No adventurers would be willing to send out a cargo of goods without assurance of a market, or at best with the prospect only of sales at very low rates. The collapse of the joint stock would inevitably inflict injury upon the people, even though it should give encouragement to persons who de- sired to trade in Virginia on their own private account.^

''■ Abstracts of Proceedings of the Virginia Company of London, yo\. II, pp. 31, 32. 2 Ibid.

284 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

There are indications that the monopoly the Company sought to enforce in tobacco and sassafras would, if it had been put into the strictest operation, have excluded all independent traffic. In 1618, a petition was offered to Lord Zouch as the warden of the Cinque Ports, in which permission was sought by Captain Andrews of the Silver Falcon^ who was associated with a Dutch merchant, to make a trading voyage to America. Among the objects to be secured were the erection of a plantation for the production of tobacco and grain, the purchase of furs from the Indians, and the barter of fish caught on the coast of Canada for the commodities to be obtained in Virginia. The great evils to be expected, according to the statement of the promoters of the enterprise, were that the " monopolists " of that Colony would break up any settlement the petitioners established, by removing the people, or would prohibit all trade between them and the Virginians, or if they did not do this, would at any rate except tobacco and sassafras from the list of articles to be exchanged, in which case, all the rest might as well be denied. 1 As a means of conciliating the Company, they proposed that if the result of the voyage was highly profitable, they should contribute in proportion to their gains to meeting the regular charges upon that body in supporting the plantation. Zouch granted the warrant sought, the vessel being described as his own.^

The magazine ship, the Creorge was followed in the course of the year of its arrival by two other vessels, which had been dispatched by the same combination of private

1 Project of the voyage of the Silver Falcon, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. I, No. 38; Sainsbiiry Abstracts for 1618, p. '2?>(S, Va. State Library.

2 Warrant from Zouch as warden of the Cinque Ports, British State Papers, Colonial; Sainsbury Abstracts for 161S, p. 8, Va. State Library.

MAN Ur ACT [IKED SUPPLIES 285

adventurers contributing in joint stock under the auspices of the Compan3\ The William and Thomas, the last of these two vessels to reach Virginia, which was in January, 1618, Avas accompanied by the Gift, a ship sent to the Colony by the Society of Martin's Hundred, one of the private associations to w^hich a large grant of land had been made when the year came around for the first decla- ration of a dividend. 1 This vessel brought over supplies intended for the Hundred only. The supplies imported in the William and Tliomas seem to have been exchanged for tobacco in spite of the presence of ArgoU and the ruin which his policy had caused, for it returned to England in July, 1619, having on board a cargo of twenty thousand pounds. A large sum in the shape of bills of exchange upon the Company was also brought back, apparently indicating that the Magazine had fallen short in quantity of goods, of the demand in the Colony, so that the Cape j\lerchant was forced to pay in this form for a part of the tobacco bought. Abraham Piersey did not return to England in the magazine ship, but instead wrote a letter in which he recommended that thereafter he should be permitted to sell the articles forwarded to him as Cape Merchant at such rates as he could secure, without regard to any price fixed upon by the adventurers of the joint stock. He also complained that much of the merchandise sent him was not suited to the character of the trade in Virginia. 2

1 Briefe Declaration of the Plantation of Virginia, Colonial Beconls of Virr/inia, State Senate Doct., Extra, 1874, p. 78.

- Abstracts of Proceedinr/s of the Virginia Company of London, vol. I, pp. 12, 13. The Cape Merchant had difficulty in collecting some of the debts due the Magazine, owing to the perversity of Captain Martin. " Mr. Piersey, the Cape Merchant, taking notice of Captain Martin's denial of protecting any within his territory from arrest for debt, affirmed that having delivered divers warrants to the provost marshal of James City

286 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

The suggestion of Piersey as to abolishing all fixed prices in bartering goods for tobacco did not receive the approval of the Company. Among the instructions laid down for the guidance of the first Assembly convening in the Colony, was one that required the members to pass a law establishing the rate of exchange at three shillings a pound for the highest grade of tobacco, and eighteen pence for the lowest. The Cape Merchant was ordered by the Assembly to appear before it and to consent to the adoption of this regulation, which he declined to do until a distinct command had been given him to that effect, to serve as an acquittance in case the intention of the Com- pany had not been clearly understood. He was limited to a gain of twenty-five per cent in the hundred on the original cost of the goods. In paying for tobacco offered him for sale, he was required to settle in bills of exchange if this should be desired by the owner, which was not unlikely, as he might wish to remit money to debtors or friends in England. In the mother country only were such bills to be made payable.^

Precautions were taken to prevent fraud on the part of the Cape Merchant in exchanging goods for Virginian commodities. In making payment, he was instructed to draw up two invoices, one of which was to be retained by himself and the other to be presented to the Governor for safe-keeping. If a dispute were to arise, there would be at least one voucher to shov,^ the character of the original transaction. Under special circumstances, the law passed

in Virginia, to be served en men tliat were indebted, living loosely within Captain Martin's plantation, the provost marshall told him that the said Captain Martin resisted the officer, and drew arms upon and would not suffer him to execute the said Warrants." Abstracts of Proceedings of the Virginia Company of London, vol. I, pp. 187, 188.

1 For these and following details, see Lawes of Assembly, 1019, Colonial Becords of Virginia^ State Senate Doct., Extra, 1874, pp. 22-24.

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by the Assembly exempted the planter from the operation of the rule constraining him to dispose of his tobacco to the Magazine. If the supplies contained in the Magazine did not include some article recognized as a necessary of life, such an article might be bought from an}^ one who offered it for sale, but the purchaser was required in doing so to pay at the rate laid down for the same in all cases in which the Cape Merchant was the seller. In such purchases the consent of the Governor had first to be secured. The commodities produced in the boundaries of the land owned by private associations and known as Hundreds, were not brought to the Cape Merchant for exchange, the adventurers interested in the Hundreds en- joying the right to dispose of these commodities to their own profit, since this privilege had been granted to them under the provisions of their patents. They were, how- ever, subject to certain important conditions. The com- modities must have been produced in the limits of their jurisdiction and not obtained by trading with the planters who occupied lands which were the property of the Com- pany. Furthermore, if upon the termination of a joint stock, a quantity of goods remained in the Magazine unsold, these goods were to be exhausted by purchasers residing in the Hundreds before the adventurers of the Hundreds could furnish them with supplies of the same character.

In 1619, a list of standing orders and laws, drawn from the letters patent of the King, the royal instructions and the rules established by the Company from time to time, was adopted. In the provisions for the regulation of trade, it was stated with great particularity that as soon as the period agreed upon for the continuation of the joint stock for the Magazine expired, entire liberty was to be allowed every one to enter into private commercial relations with

288 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

the colonists. 1 In the meanwhile, much complaint seems to have been made of an inclination on the part of the Cape Merchant to set a higher value on the articles in his charge than he was authorized to do, an indirect means of reducing the value of the planters' tobacco below the prices laid down by the Assembly, acting under orders from the Company. The complaint coming to the knowl- edge of the latter, the Governor and Council were com- manded to examine his invoices to find out whether he had disposed of the goods sent him to be bartered, at higher figures than he could justify in his instructions.^ It would seem that the legal rates at which the tobacco was to be exchanged, namely, three shillings for that of the best quality and eighteen pence for that of the worst, were too much, and that the Cape Merchant in raising the prices of the articles in the Magazine was merely seeking to

1 Orders and Constitutions, 1619, p. 23, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III. The ' ' Society of Particular Adventurers for Traffic with the People of Virginia in Joint Stock " was dissolved Jan. 22, 1619-20. The minute of the Company showing this is as follows : " Concerning the Maga- zine touching the joynt . . . whether it should continue or not, after some discussion given for the maintenance of it no longer, it was generally agreed by ye adventurers that it should be dissolved, which by raising of hands being put to ye question was ratified, now ordering that for ye 5200 and odd pounds worth of goods here remaining, rated at the cost of first penny, shall first be put off before any of ye same kind shall be sent." Collingwood MS. Records of London Company, in Congressional Library, vol. I, p. 64. It was declared February 2, that as the Magazine, that is to say, the Society of Particular Adventurers, had voluntarily dissolved itself, "now matters of trade are free and open for all men." Ibid., p. 72. It should be remembered that the supplies which had since 1616 been dispatched to Virginia had been sent by this Society, which had been granted a monopoly recognized by all except during Argoll's administra- tion. Magazines continued to be forwarded to the Colony, but they were the property of particular associations of subscribers, united in temporary joint stock.

2 Abstracts of Proceedings of the Virginia Company of London, vol. I, p. 55.

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secure a legitimate margin of profit. The planters asserted that the adventurers in England sold the leaf procured in the Colony at an advance of two hundred per cent over its cost in Virginia, and on this ground they justified a number of deceits in passing bad tobacco upon the Cape Merchant at the highest rates. ^ There does not appear to have been any ground for this assertion. The Magazine sent out in the course of 1620, under the charge of Mr. Blaney, not only failed to assure any profit to the ad- venturers of that particular joint stock,^ but the very principal of the subscription was lost, and lost on account of the impossibility of obtaining in England prices for to- bacco that would cover the amount expended in its purchase in Virginia, and the various charges attendant upon the voyage. 3 The abolition of the special rates adopted by the Assembly in 1619 became imperative. In July, 1621, the Company, in a letter addressed to the Governor and Council in Virginia, instructed them to secure for the Cape Merchant who would dispose of the cargo of the ship in which the letter was conveyed, full liberty to sell the goods at the highest prices offered, and to get the main commodity of the country in exchange without regard to the rates formerly prescribed by law.^ In the same month in which this order had been given, a Quarter Court was held, and four rolls were offered for subscriptions. One of these rolls related to clothing and articles of a like nature. Eighteen hundred pounds sterling were at once obtained,

1 Company's Letters, August and September, 1621, Neill's Virginia Company of London, pp. 238, 244.

2 The Society of Particular Adventurers in Joint Stock had now been dissolved. This Magazine was sent out by a special and temporary asso- ciation of subscribers.

3 Company's Letter, September, 1621, Neill's Virginia Company of London, p. 243 ; Abstracts of Proceedings of the Virginia Company of London, vol. I, p. 124. * Neill's Virginia Company of London, p. 262.

290 ECONOMIC HISTOKY OF VIRGINIA

although many members were not present, this being the period of vacation and the town deserted. ^ In August, the following month, the magazine ship not being yet ready to sail, the Company took advantage of the de- parture of the Marmaduke to write again to the Governor and Council in Virginia, and after complaining of the inferior tobacco passed surreptitiously upon the Cape Merchant, announced that upon the expiration of the year 1621 they would not furnish any supplies to the planters in exchange, as the latter considered it entirely proper to purchase these supplies on long credits, but never failed to demand cash when they disposed of their crops to the Company. The disinterestedness of this body in relation to the Colony in the matter of trade apj)ears from the warning in the same communication that in paying for the cattle which Mr. Gookin was at this time importing into Virginia from Ireland, the best grades of tobacco only should be used, as a means not only of securing further consignments of live stock, but also of goods, which could from that country be obtained at easier rates than from the Company in England. ^

According to the promise of the Company, the maga- zine ship, the Warwick, accompanied by a pinnace, sailed for Virginia in September, with a large cargo of clothing and other necessaries not to be procured in the Colony. The articles forwarded were designed merely for the relief and comfort of the planters, although the Company was aware that a far greater profit was to be got from sending over what would pander to the vanity and the appetites of the people, such as spirits and fine apparel. This cargo was valued at a thousand pounds sterling. In order to avoid the certain loss which would result from

1 Abstracts of Proceedings of the Virginia Company of London, vol. I, p. 158. 2 Neill's Virginia Company of London, pp. 238, 240.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 291

exchanging the goods included in the Magazine, for tobacco at the rate of three shillings a pound for the best, or eighteen pence for the meanest grades, the Governor and Council were enjoined to leave Mr. Blaney, who was in charge of it, to his free discretion in disposing of the merchandise within the limits as to price laid down in private instructions for his guidance. The Company also urged that it was to the interest of the planters that there should be a profitable return upon this Magazine, as those who had invested large sums in its purchase would be encouraged to continue in the same course, assuring a certain and steady supply of necessary goods for the people of the Colony. ^ The Company admitted that its own treasury was empty and that only reliance was to be placed upon the purses of its members coming forward in the character of private adventurers.^ The pinnace accompanying tlie magazine ship was captured by the Turks and never reached Virginia, thus causing the loss of the goods on board designed for the planters.^ In the reply returned by the Governor and Council to the instructions sent over, they informed the Company that the bulk of the crop of the previous season had been disposed of before the magazine ship arrived, and in consequence of this fact, they had recommended Mr. Blaney to distribute among the colonists the merchandise which he had imported, taking their bonds to secure his ownership in the tobacco to be planted in the following season. This letter reveals the fact that in practice free trade had now been fully established in Virginia.^

1 Neill's Virginia Company of London, pp. 241-245.

2 Company's Letter, December, 1621, Neill's Virginia Company of London, p. 268.

3 Letter of Governor and Council of Virginia to Company, January, 1621-22, Neill's Virginia Company of London, p. 276.

* Neill's Virginia Company of London, p. 277.

292 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

As early as tlie autumn of 1619, a ship had been dis- patched to Newfoundland with a cargo of tobacco in charge of the Cape Merchant, Abraham Piersey, who was then residing in the Colony, to be exchanged for fish.i The general example set by the Dutch privateer which in 1619 imported into Virginia the first cargo of negroes introduced, was doubtless imitated by other ves- sels of the Low Countries, especially after the establish- ment by the Company of factories at Middleburg and Flushing. In the Discourse drawn up by former mem- bers of that body after its dissolution, it is distinctly affirmed that the people during the administration of Yeardley, and also during that of Wyatt previous to the massacre, had enjoyed, in consequence of the free trade allowed at that time, ample supplies of necessaries from abroad. 2 In a letter from the Governor and Council in Virginia to the authorities in England, referring to the latter part of 1622, the year in which the massacre took place, it was stated that private adventurers were con- stantly reaching the Colony who furnished the inhabitants with articles that were particularly acceptable, such as sweetmeats, sack, and strong liquors.^ The Dutch were probably the chief participants in this trade.* Specific

1 Works of Capt. John Smith, p. 541.

2 The Discourse of the Old Company, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. Ill, No. 40 ; Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. I, p. 160.

3 Governor and Council of Virginia to Company, January, 1622-23, Neill's Virginia Company of London, p. 372.

* In Documents Relating to the Colonial History of New York, vol. I, p. 25, the following entry will be found under date of September, 1621 : "Resolution of the States of Holland and Westvriesland dated 13 Sept'. Read a petition from Gerret Van Schoudhoven and other Guinea Traders ; Item also, the petition of Traders to Virginia requesting to be allowed to send out some ships to bring their returns thence to this country as the trade and commerce thither are not to be lost before the West India

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 293

orders were sent to Governor Wyatt to prohibit all ex- change with the people of Holland, as this diversion of tobacco from England diminished the volume of tlie royal customs. In 1623, Wyatt was thrown into a state of great doubt as to what course he ought to pursue, by the information received from the captain of an English vessel, that a Dutch ship which he had passed at sea had expressed an intention of making a voyage to Virginia to exchange supplies for its principal commodity .1 The need of such supplies was now urgent. The financial inability of the Company had been fully set forth in its letter to the Governor and Council in the previous autumn, in which stress was also laid upon the discouragement of the adventurers in consequence of the failure of Mr. Blaney, the Cape Merchant, who had arrived at Jamestown in the Wanvick in the previous year, to dispose of the goods in his charge except on credits which had not yet been col- lected.^ The Company had by this time expended one hundred thousand pounds sterling in the Virginian enter- prise without profit and without recovery of even a part of the capital invested. ^ In 1623, it was compelled in

Company be formed and ready." These petitions wei;e allowed on con- dition that the petitioners pledged " themselves to be back to this country {i.e. Holland) before the 1st of July next." On Wednesday, Sept. 15, 1G21, the States General granted permission to Henrich Elkens, Hans Jooris Houton, and Adriaen Janssen "to send their ship named the White Dove, burden about forty lasts ... to Virginia, on condition that they shall have returned to this country before the ilrst of July next with their goods and ship." Ihid., p. 26. After this period the Dutch trade with Virginia was carried on under the auspices of the Dutch West India Company.

1 GoyQxnor^Yy^ttto3o\\n.'Eevver, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. II, No. 26 ; Sainshury Abstracts for 1623, p. 87, Va. State Library.

2 Neill's Virginia Company of London, pp. .355, 356.

2 Abstracts of Proceedings of the Virginia Company of London, vol. I, p. 144. In a petition to the King, presented in 1623 by the Somers Isles (Bermudas) and London Companies, it is stated that £200,000 had been

294 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

spite of its poverty to pay out an enormous sum for that age to rescue the inhabitants of the Colony from a famine precipitated by the terrible mortality prevailing there in the spring of that year. The Privy Council issued an order requiring that the name of every member of the Company and the number and value of his shares should be certified to the Council, the object of this being to mulct him in proportion to his holding, as a contribution to the fund to be raised for purchasing supplies for the starving people. The payment made by each shareholder was not to fall short of ten shillings.^ It was not intended to restrict the proportion which each was to give, to the amount of his stock ; each could contribute a larger sum if he wished to do so, or become an adventurer in a private magazine to be sent out to the Colony. Such a magazine was erected, Richard Caswell receiving the appointment of Treasurer. By July 4th, sixteen names had been obtained, the amount promised being seven hundred and twenty-seven pounds sterling, in sums rang- ing from ten to one hundred pounds ; ^ the subscriptions were attached to several rolls, the signatures having been secured by Mr. Caswell, who had made personal visits to members of the Company who happened to be in town.^ The supplies included in the magazine were transported to Virginia in the charge of a cape merchant appointed especially to superintend its disbursement. This cape

expended in their plantation. British State Papers, Colonial, vol. II, No. 50; Sainshury Abstracts for 1623, p. 158, Va. State Library.

1 Abst7'acts of Proceedings of the Virginia Company of London, vol. II, p. 227.

2 List of Underwriters for a Speedy Supply to Virginia, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. II, No. 39; Sainsbury Abstracts for 1623, pp. 122, 123, Va. State Library.

3 Abstracts of Proceedings of the Virginia Company of London, vol. II, p. 228.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 295

merchant was afterwards accused by the faction hostile to the Southampton Administration of selling its contents at excessive rates, being able to do so on account of the great demand for such articles. The charge was fully refuted by Mr. Caswell. In a speech delivered at a Gen- eral Court, he stated that the meal, which constituted a very important part of the supplies, and in connection with which it was asserted extortion had been exercised, had been purchased in England at nine shillings a bushel, an amount swelled to thirteen shillings by the charges for custom and freight. In England, a hogshead of meal measuring nine bushels was valued in the market at five pounds and seventeen shillings. In Virginia, at this time, the same quantity was sold for eighty pounds of tobacco, a commodity commanding in England eighteen pence a pound, in consequence of which the margin of profit upon each bushel sank to six pence after the payment of all charges and after allowance for shrinkage.^

There were other magazine ships dispatched to Virginia in 1623, in addition to the Hopeivell^ which transported the supplies secured by Mr. Caswell. The magazine sent in the Truelove was valued at five hundred and thirty-six pounds sterling. The master of the ship invested sixty pounds in its cargo, while Mr. Dodson, a prominent mem- ber of the Company, subscribed to an interest in it, which would now be represented by two thousand dollars. ^ This last subscription reveals the liberal spirit shown at this crisis in the history of the Colony, for Mr. Dodson had already been compelled by the order in Council to contribute to the general fund for the use of tlie people

1 Abstracts of Proceedings of the Virginia Company of London, vol. II, p. 261.

- British State Papers, Colonial, vol. II, No. 43, II ; Sainsbury Abstracts f>r 1G23, p. 139, Va. State Library.

296 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

in Virginia, in proportion to his shares. In making a venture in the private magazine carried over in the True- love^ his prospect of gain, owing to the depressed condition of the Colony, must have been very small. His action was reflected in that of many other members of the Com- pany, whose experience in the past had not been such as to raise their expectation of profit.

The supplies forwarded to the people in Virginia were not obtained from England only. The William and John brought in a cargo from Flushing in the Low Countries, in which city, as has -been seen, the Company had opened a factory for the sale of its tobacco.^ A large quantity of necessary articles of all kinds was also received by individual planters from friends or relatives in Eng- land ; in September, for instance, there arrived for George Harrison, from his brother, flour, oatmeal, peas, cheese, vinegar, and a chest containing spices, tools, and powder. ^ The goods imported at this time were introduced in hogs- heads, one ship bringing over two hundred and forty. In the same year, several vessels were engaged in transporting fish to Virginia from Newfoundland. ^

The revocation of the charter in 1624 left the planta- tions open without restriction to independent traders. In a brief interval immediately following the recall of the letters patent, before the new relations of the Colony with the mother country had been fully adjusted, the English Government, which had now absorbed into itself all the powers of the former Company, took the necessary pre- cautions to prevent a dearth of supplies in Virginia. The

1 British State Papers, Colonial, vol. II, No. 42.

^ Ibid., No. 44; Sainsbury Abstracts for 1623, p. 142, Va. State Library.

3 Dephebus Canne to John Delbridge, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. II, No. 36 ; Sainsbury Abstracts for 1623, p. 119, Va. State Library.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 297

Company, as long as it remained in existence, felt under the strongest obligation, apart from all consideration of profit, to promote the importation of English goods to meet the necessities of the people. This feeling was trans- mitted to the royal government when that corporation ceased to exist. The royal government was also in some measure actuated by the desire to prevent the diversion of tobacco to Holland, which would have diminished the cus- toms of England proportionately. In the beginning, the Colony was in serious danger of suffering in the extreme from the want more especially of apparel and munition. The ol)ject which Sir George Yeardley was instructed to accomplish in his mission to London in 1625 was to obtain ample quantities of tools, powder, shot, and clothing, wine, aquavitce, sugar, and spice. ^ He found on his arrival that an order had been issued by the Privy Council to the municipal authorities of Southampton to send a vessel to Virginia loaded with a large cargo of the articles needed there ; ^ to this order, an answer was returned that a ship was already fitting out in that port designed to carry a great store of merchandise to the Colony. In addition to this ship, a vessel of one hundred and eighty tons sailed from London and a third from Plymouth.^ In the course of 1626 and 1627, it was clearly shown that so far from the abolition of the Company having inflicted any suffering upon the settlers by curtailing their imported supplies,

1 Petition of Sir George Yeardley, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. Ill, No. 40 ; Sainsbury Abstracts for 1625, pp. 119, 120, Va. State Library.

2 Mayor and Aldermen of Southampton to Privy Council, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. Ill, No. 48 ; Sainsbury Abstracts for 1625, p. 123, Va. State Library.

2 Mayor and Aldermen of Southampton to Privy Council, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. Ill, No. 48 ; Sainsbury Abstracts for 1625, p. 123, A^a. State Library.

298 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

they had never before received so large a quantity, espe- cially in the matter of liquors and clothing. The most active participant in this new trade was John Preen of London, who at this time had only reached his thirty- sixth year; in 1626, he is found, together with Thomas Willoughby of Rochester and John Pollington of London, seeking permission to convey to Virginia not only passen- gers and munition, but also goods of various sorts. Ten barrels of powder constituted a part of the cargo. As the voyage was attended with great danger of attack from enemies roaming the seas. Preen obtained the consent of the authorities to the purchase of an additional fifteen barrels to be reserved for the defence of his ship. It is an indication of the perils of the age that he thought it neces- sary, before starting upon his voyage, to secure exemption from impressment, however great apparently the emer- gency. ^ In 1628, he testified to the fact that he had trans- ported supplies to the Colony on four different occasions, and that in each instance he had borne the whole burden of the expense. 2

The English Government was very much disposed at this time to encourage the several schemes advanced on the part of private individuals looking to the purchase of the annual crop of Virginia under the terms laid down in a regular contract, the object being to increase the amount of the customs by assuring the transportation into the mother country of all the tobacco raised in the Colony. Much stress was laid upon the fact that in this way the planters would receive in each year a large magazine of goods representing every variety needed. The Virginians

1 British State Papers, Colonial, vol. IV, No. 13; No. 13, I; No. 15; Sainsbury Abstracts for 1626, pp. 148, 149, 152, Va. State Library.

2 Petition of Captain .John Preen, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. IV, No. 58; Sainsbury Abstracts for 162S, p. 189, Va. State Library.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 299

were not adverse to the suggestion, as has been seen, pro- vided that in buying their product, a rate was adopted which would not assure a higher degree of profit to the owners of the goods than twenty-five per cent.^ In the nego- tiations carried on by Sir George Yeardley, as the agent of the planters, and a Mr. Amis, who proposed to enter into a contract for a large part of the annual crop, it was required of the latter that he should furnish a standing magazine of articles to be exchanged for tobacco on the basis of eighteen pence a pound. This proposition was rejected by Amis, although it would have insured him a gain of fifty per cent upon the cost of his merchandise in England. 2

There was now no dearth of imported supplies in the Colony. So great was the abundance of goods brought in immediately previous to 1630, that the planters became deeply indebted to the different persons who traded in Virginia. 3 The quantity of commodities of various sorts brought in after that date increased in proportion to the growth of population, not being exposed to serious inter- ruptions except in an interval when foreign wars were in progress. During the long period between 1630 and 1700, the great volume of goods landed in the Colony were exported from England. A very important proportion, however, previous to 1661, came from Holland, and also both before and after that year, from the New Netherlands, the West Indies, New England, New York, and Maryland.

1 Governor and Council of Virginia to Privy Council, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. IV, No. 10 ; Sainsbury Abstracts for 1626, p. U-J, Va. State LibrarJ^

2 Governor Yeardley to Privy Council, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. IV, No. 21 ; Sainsbury Abstracts for 1627, p. 156, Va. State Library.

3 Governor West and Council to Attorney-General Heath, British State Papers, Colonial, Vol. IV, No. 40 ; Sainsbury Abstracts for 162S, p. 172, Va. State Library.

300 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

Before entering into a description of the course of ex- change between England and Virginia from 1630 to 1700, it will be interesting to give some account of the commer- cial relations of the planters with the countries which have just been named.

II.

I have already referred to the commerce with the Dutch during the existence of the Company and the steps taken to put an end to it. After the dissolution of that body, similar measures were adopted by the English Govern- ment, but they do not appear to have had more than a temporary effect.^ In the winter of 1626, the Flying Hart arrived in Virginia from Flushing, and although its commander could show no commission, the authorities of the Colony, contrary to the well-known orders in Council issued on several occasions, admitted the vessel to trade. ^

1 "That as the King has directed his commission to divers gentlemen to treat and conclude a contract for all the tobacco of the English colonies for his Majesty's use, and that there are at this time divers ships freight- ing in the Low Countries for Virginia and the Caribbees, with intention to trade there and return with tobacco contrary to several orders and proclamations, as also the utter ruin of the contract now in treaty and likely to take effect, it is desired that strict charge be given from his Majesty or this Honorable Board (Privy Council) to the Governor of Vir- ginia especially not to suffer any such trade, there being no need of their provisions, ships of good store of our own already gone and now going to supply their wants if any there be. This to be despatched with all speed, there being a ship ready to set sail, which may convey this Com- mand before any of the Hollanders arrive." Dom. Cor. James I, vol. 169, No. 7, Sainsbury Abstracts for 1624, p. 2, Va. State Library. This letter was written in 1624. In October of that year, a ship reached Hol- land from Virginia, having on board a cargo of furs and other com- modities, tobacco included presumably. Documents Eelatiug to Colonial History of New York, vol. I, p. .34.

2 Governor and Council to Commissioners for Virginia, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. IV, No. 1; Sainsbury Abstracts for 1026, p. 124, Va. State Library.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 301

111 justifying their conduct afterwards, they decLared that the o^yners of the Flying Hart were Englishmen and ad- venturers of the late Company, one of them, Arthur Swain, having been its jDrincipal factor in Holland. In the instructions drawn for the guidance of Yeardley, when he became Governor in 1626, the warmest disapprobation was expressed of the intercourse between Virginia and the Low Countries, but the uselessness of the disapproval is shown by the fact that a few years later the commerce with the Dutch had grown to such proportions that Cap- tain Tucker, a leading merchant of the Colony, protested to the Privy Council against its being permitted to con- tinue. He declared that the admission of supplies from Holland curtailed the Virginian market for English traders to an extent which diminished their profits very seriously, and that the discouragement of these traders signified that the planters would be deprived of the only agency upon which they could rely with absolute certainty for the acquisition of necessary foreign commodities; that the Dutch were already encroaching upon the boundaries of the Colony, and that a monopoly of its product would give them in the end the most complete possession of its soil. As an evidence that his statement as to the large volume of transactions by Dutch merchants in Virginia was not exaggerated. Captain Tucker called attention to the fact that two vessels from Zealand were then on the point of setting out for the Colony, the exchange of the cargoes of which for tobacco would impose a loss upon English mer- chants of four thousand pounds sterling, i

^ Documents Belating to Colonial History of JSfeio York, vol. Ill, p. 43 ; British State Papers, Colonial, vol. VI, No. 82 ; Sainshury Abstracts for 1633, p. 48, Va. State Library. Tucker was supported in his posi- tion by Sir John Wolstenholme, who used all his influence to procure letters from the Privy Council to the Governor and Council in Virginia,

302 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

The active commercial relations between Holland and Virginia at this time seem to have been maintained in part at least by English merchants who resided in the Low Coun- tries. In 1633, for instance, there arrived in the Colony from thence two vessels dispatched by John Constable and his associates, who were only prevented from carry- ing into Holland the tobacco obtained in Virginia in ex- change for their goods, by the vigilance of the English admiral who was in command of the fleet cruising in the English channel.^ Governor Harvey recommended to the Privy Council that no shipmaster should be allowed to dispose of a cargo in the Colony unless he could present a cocquet which had the approval of the authorities at Jamestown. The only effective means in his opinion for the enforcement of the rule shutting out all foreigners was to erect a custom-house in which vessels arriving should be compelled to make entry. ^ The suggestion was not acted upon. Even if steps had been taken to put it into practice, there is no reason to think that it would have accomplished the purpose in view. This was afterwards shown in the history of the different laws passed for the erection of ports, which, on account of the peculiar configuration of the country, failed to check the dispersion of trade. Public opinion at the date of Har- vey's suggestion was opposed to the imposition of any restraint upon freedom of exchange with the Dutch, and

prohibiting the admission of the Dutch to trade. See his btter to Sir William Beecher, British State Papers^ Colonial, vol. VI, No. 81 ; Sains- bury Abstracts for 1633, p. 47, Va. State Library.

1 These were the two vessels from Zealand to which Captain Tucker had referred. See British State Papers, Colonial, vol. VIII, No. 3 ; Sains- hury Abstracts for 1633, p. 53, Va. State Library.

2 Governor and Council to Privy Council, British State Papers, Colo- nial, vol. VIII, No. 3 ; SainsMiry Abstracts for 1633, p. 53, Va. State Library,

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little attention seems to have been paid to the wishes in this respect of the authorities in England. In the em- bittered controversy that arose in 1635 between Governor Harvey and Samuel INIathews, one of the gravest charges brought against the latter by the former was, that in the face of the expressed command of the Privy Council that all commerce with the Dutch should cease, he had admitted merchants from Holland into his house and had large transactions with them.^ The open way in which they traded is disclosed by abundant evidence. Thus in 1634 there arrived in the Colony a ship from the Low Coun- tries which disembarked one hundred and forty passengers who had been taken on board when the vessel touched at the Bermudas in the course of its voyage to Virginia. ^ In the following year, Devries, a Dutch captain of distinction, visited the Colony and disposed of his cargo apparently with as much freedom from restraint as if he had been an English subject. The character of the business is revealed in the fact that he was compelled to disperse his goods among the planters upon the security of liens on the grow- ing crop. In the autumn of the same year, he returned to Virginia, and his first step after his arrival was to obtain a license entitling him to the privilege of sailing up and down James River for the purpose of receiving from his debtors the amount of tobacco for which they were bound to him. He seems to have had poor success in gathering his dues in hand. The volume of the crop was small and the greater portion of what had been produced had, at the earliest moment, been seized by the factors of the English traders who resided in the Colony. Devries not having a representative of his interests there at that time,

1 British State Papers^ Colonial, vol. VIII, No. 85.

2 Census of 1634, Colonial Bccords of Virginia, State Senate Doct., Extra, 1874, p. 91.

304 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

found that the security for his credits had for that year at least been preempted, and in consequence he was forced to defer his collections for a period of twelve months. 1 This fact indicates the extreme precariousness of the trade, and it was quite probably no uncommon instance. The necessary loss of interest for twenty-four months on the money originally invested in the goods disposed of to the colonists in the case especially referred to, could only have been covered by an extraordinary profit in the sale of the tobacco when it had at last been paid. It was only the certainty of such a profit which would have justified the merchant in running such risks.

Devries formed a high opinion of the capacity of the Virginians in the matter of bargains. Peter, he said, was always very near Paul in that country. Unless the for- eign merchant was on the alert, he was in danger of being stuck in the tail. To get the best of him in an exchange, by deceit, was considered to be a Roman action, v.hicli entitled the performer to admiration and praise. ^ The Dutchman was probably smarting under the recollection of having been outwitted when he expressed this opinion ; it sounds oddly as coming from a citizen of the nation which was justly regarded as being composed of the slirewdest and not the most scrupulous traders of that age. If all the deceits practised in the dealings with the people of the Colony in the seventeenth century were carefully summed up and a balance struck as to which party secured the greatest advantage from them, the

1 Devries' Voyages from Holland to America, pp. 112, 113. Devries, commenting on his own experience, said that "the English Virginias were an unfit place for the Dutch nation to trade, unless they continued the trade through all the year." pp. 113, 114.

^ Ibid., p. 186.

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planter or the merchant, it wonkl l)e soon seen that the former was more often the victim than the Latter, and that his necessities were used to force him into bargains, in which he alone suffered. The English authorities seem to have thought at this time that the Virginians were in much more danger from the Dutch in their commercial intercourse with that people than the Dutch were from the Virginians. The colonists were warned in a solemn document sent over by the Government that the Holland- ers were seeking to make a prey of their tobacco by secur- ing it at rates of exchange highly extortionate. It was pointed out that one of the worst evils of the exclusive devotion of the planters to that commodity was that it forced them to look to the Dutch in large part for their supplies, England not furnishing a sufficient market for the whole quantity produced, a fact of which the Dutch took advantage. The Governor and Council were ordered to put a stop to all trade with the Low Countries except in a time of great distress, and even in such a period, when a Dutch ship, after disposing of its cargo, left the Colony loaded down with tobacco, a bond was to be required of its master that he should proceed to London with his ves- sel for the purpose of paying the customs, after which he was to be permitted to continue his voyage to Holland. ^ An injunction to the same effect was inserted in the in- structions given to Wyatt when he became Governor in 1638,2 and it was repeated in the instructions to Berkeley in 1641.3 There was quite probably an irresistible dis])osi-

1 BrUish State. Papers, Colonial, vol. IX, No. 47 ; Sainsbunj Abstracts for 1637, p. 193, Va. State Library.

2 Colonial Entry Book, vol. 79, pp. 219-236 ; Sainsbury Abstracts for 1638, p. 49, Va. State Library.

3 Instructions to Berkeley, McDonald Papers, vol. I, p. 388, Va. State Library. See, also, for these Instructions, Virrjinia Mayusinc of lli.-^tury and Biography, vol. II, p. 280.

VOL. II. — X

306 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

tion on the part of the authorities in Virginia to consider that the period of distress in which the strictness of the rule was to be relaxed had arrived whenever a Dutch ship made its appearance in the James or York, and that it was, therefore, entirely proper to issue to its captain a license to trade. ^ A case of this kind occurred in 1640. A Flemish vessel reached the Colony early in the season, and exchanged her goods for tobacco, which was taken on board and a security given for the payment of the cus- toms in London. A petition was entered by the masters of the English ships riding at that time in Virginian waters, asking that an example should be made of the alien by confiscating her cargo. The General Court re- jected it, alleging that when the Dutch vessel had arrived the people were in pressing want of supplies ; and that the articles imported by her had afforded great relief ; that the English ships reaching Virginia at a later date had been lacking in the commodities so much needed, and that if dependence had been placed upon them alone, the colonists would have been left in a state of " intolerable exigency." The license to the Fleming, instead of being revoked, was solemnly confirmed. ^

The authorities of Virginia were disposed to extend to the Dutch as ample encouragement as they dared. A

1 In the well-known speech delivered by Sir William Berkeley in March, 1651, before the Assembly, in condemnation of the first Act of Navigation, he charged the "men at Westminster" with the desire to bring the people of the Colony "to the same poverty wherein the Dutch found and relieved them." See Virginia 3Iagazine of History and Biog- raphy, vol. I, p. 77.

2 General Court Orders, Feb. 4, 1640, Bobinson Transcripts, p. 18S. The following is preserved in the Becords of Accomac County in vol. 1632- 1640, p. 17 (Va. State Library), being a part of an account between Mr. Burnett and Daniel Cughley of "several voyages made by the good vessel called the Virgine.''^ " Pr. Contra: more for overplus of goods received out of ye Dutch voyage, 9 £."

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special statute was passed in the session of 10-12-43 having this object directly in view. The shipowners from Holland had complained, in a paper presented by them to the Assembly, that the requirement that they should always give bond, before their vessels departed from the Colony, to pay the duty on their cargoes of tobacco, had had the effect of seriously restricting the introduction of supplies from the Low Countries because it was difficult for Dutch traders to obtain the necessary security in A^irginia. To remove this obstruction, the Assembly provided that no obligation should be demanded of the master or owner of any Dutch vessel who had pro- cured letters of credit from an English merchant of high standing, guaranteeing the payment of the customs by the holder. This amount was to be settled in the form of a bill of exchange drawn on the person who had come for- ward as his surety. 1 The passage of this Act had a marked tendency to increase commercial intercourse with Holland. In the year in which it became a law, Devries observed four vessels from that country in the waters of Virginia, and there were doubtless others escaping his notice because lying in other parts of the Colon}- during his stay. 2

An incident, occurring in 1613, reveals the little impor- tance attached by many of the Dutch traders to the requirements as to letters of credit. During the visit of Devries to New Amsterdam in the autumn of this year, a vessel from Rotterdam arrived, having been driven far out of her intended course. This vessel, after leaving Holland, had proceeded to Madeira, and there taking on board a cargo of wine, had afterwards sailed to the West Indies. From thence, she had turned towards Virginia, where it was pro-

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 258.

2 Devries' Voyages from Holland to America, p. 183.

308 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

posed to exchange the wine for tobacco. Ignorant of the coast, the master of the vessel had passed the Capes and had been blown as far to the north as New England. This Colony was found to be no market for liquors, and in consequence he had sailed to New Amsterdam, hoping to find purchasers in the burghers of that town. It will be seen in this case, that although the master of the ship had not toadied at an English port and obtained the letters of credit which were necessary, he nevertheless had made his way towards Virginia with the full purpose of selling his wines to the planters. He disposed of them to an Englishman whom he met in New Amsterdam, but agreed to transport them to the Colony and there to deliver them into the hands of a factor. A portion of the wines were discharged at Jamestown and a portion at Fleur de Hundred. ^

In 1646, the Dutch West India Company gave formal permission to the citizens of Holland to send out their own ships to the different places, including Virginia, com- ing within the jurisdiction of that corporation. ^ The records of the county courts belonging to this part of the seventeenth century show the importance of the private trade which in consequence of this order sprang up be- tween Holland and Virginia. In 1646, an attachment was issued in York against all the property of Captain Derrickson, a' citizen of the Low Countries, which was to

1 Devries' Voyages from Holland to America, pp. 176, 181, 183.

2 Documents Relating to Colonial History of New York, vol. I, p. 162. In this year (Jan. 23, 1646), Parliament adopted a regulation which remitted customs on merchandise exported to Virginia, the Bermudas, and Barbadoes, the excise tax alone excepted. This privilege of exemp- tion from payment of customs was, however, to be withdrawn from all the Plantations which continued to transport their tobacco to Europe in foreign (that is, continental) bottoms. Hazard, vol. I, pp. 634, 635.

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be found in tliat county, Derrickson having carried off a maid-servant who was under articles of indenture to Mr. Richard Glover. ^ A few years later, Captain Francis Yeardley made an assignment, to a prominent firm of Rotterdam, of three negroes as security for the payment of a large amount of tobacco which he had promised to deliver in return for goods already received. ^ Powers of attorney from Dutch merchants to representatives in Virginia now become numerous. One instance among many was the appointment of John INIerryman in 1647, to serve as the agent of Cornelius Starrman of Rotterdam in the collection of every form of indebtedness due the latter in the Colony. ^ In 1647, also, Thomas Lee Avas selected as one of the attorneys of William Scrapes of the same town.* The disordered condition of affairs in the mother country at this time, by withdrawing the attention of the English Government from Virginia, was doubtless highly promotive of the commerce between the planters and the Dutch, which only required absolute freedom for its expansion. In the Avinter of 1649, twelve ships from Holland arrived with cargoes of goods for exchange ; the number of English ships coming in during this season was the same, indicating that the trade of the Colony was now equally divided between the Dutch and the English. ^ In

1 Records of York County, vol. 1638-1648, p. 189, Va. State Library.

2 Eecords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1046-1651, f. p. 162.

3 Records of York County, vol. 1638-1648, p. 301, Va. State Library.

* Records of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1646-1651, p. 165. There is the following entry in the same vol. f. p. 138, with reference to Lee : " It is ordered that three good hogsheads of tobacco be provided to be sent to Holland with Mr. Thomas Lee, to be sold there for the best advantage of Henry Seawell, to defray the charge of his passage and other charges of the said Seawell, who is to go to Holland with the said Lee." Seawell, it appears, was an orphan, and Lee, his kinsman, prob- ably his guardian.

^ New Description of Virginia, p. 14, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. IL

310 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

1651, when Virginia yielded to Cromwell, a war was in progress between England and Holland, but it appears to have had no influence upon the intercourse between the planters and the owners of Dutch vessels. When the sur- render to the Commissioners of the Commonwealth took place, the quantity of goods in the Colony belonging to Dutch merchants was so large that a special clause was introduced in the articles of submission, stipulating that these goods should be protected from surprisal.i

In a previous chapter, I have dwelt at some length on the exports of the Dutch from the Colony in the course of the Protectorate. There are only a few details relating to the importations by the same traders during this interval to be touched upon. In a petition now offered to the States- General by a large number of the merchants of Holland, who declare that for twenty years they had been engaged in commerce with the Virginians, they mention incidentally that the principal commodities which they had been con- veying to the Colony were linen and coarse cloths, beer, brandy, and other distilled spirits. ^ These goods were exempted from Dutch customs.^ Stuyvesant was at this time anxious that all vessels leaving the Low Countries with cargoes of merchandise for Virginia should be re- quired to stop at New Amsterdam on the outward voyage, but the directors of the West India Company refused to comply with his request to that effect.* The owners of these cargoes were in many cases English merchants

1 Hening's Statiites, vol. I, p. 365.

2 Documents Belatinrj to the Colonial History of Neio York, vol. I, p. 437. The JNIaryland Council declared that " the Dutch trade was the darling of the people of Virginia and Maryland." Archives of Mary- land, Proceedings of Council, 1636-1667, p. 428.

^ Documents Belating to the Colonial History of New York, vol. XIV, p. 139.

* Ibid., vol. XIV, p. 209.

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engaged in business in Holland. In 1653, Henry Mount- ford of Rotterdam appointed an agent in Lancaster County, who was instructed to collect all that was due his principal for advances of goods ; and a similar power was given by John Sheppard of the same city to his rep- resentative in that county. ^ I21 1656, Simon Overzhe, who described himself as a citizen of Rotterdam, granted a full discharge to Thomas Lambert, who had been acting as his factor in the county of Lower Norfolk. 2 A few years later, John de Potter of Amsterdam chose as his attorney in Virginia, his sister, who had married Thomas Edmunds of Elizabeth River. ^ Among the merchants residing in the Low Countries who were engaged at the time in trade with the planters of the Eastern Shore were Cornelius Schut, Nicholas Van Bleck, and Cornelius Sten- nick.^

1 Becords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1652-1657, pp. 83, 84.

2 Records of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1651-1656, p. 232. Simon Overzhe resided at one time in Virginia, and at another in "Mary- land. Among other English merchants seated in Holland, who had dealings with planters in Lower Norfolk County, was William Harris. See his release of Francis Yeardley from all debts due by him to Harris, Ihid., p. 24. William Moseley, who lived in Lower Norfolk County, was at one time a resident of Rotterdam. See Ibid., p. 24.

3 Ibid., 1650-1666, p. 240.

* Becords of Northampton County, original vol. 1655-1657, p. 53 ; Ibid., original vol. 1657-1666, orders Sept. 7, 1666. There is entered in the records of the same county a power of attorney from Jacob Derrick- son and Abram Johnson of Holland to John Johnson to serve as their factor, both in Maryland and Virginia. See original vol. 1654-1655, f. p. 121. The following charter party drawn up in 1646 is a fair sample of the charter parties by which English merchants secured the advantages of Dutch shipping: "In the name of God, Amen. A charter party made the fourth day of September, 1646, and an agreement made by me Abraham Pyle, a publique . . . allowed and admitted of by the Lord of Holland, dwelling in . . . in the presence of the following partyes, namely, William Wright, Rowland INIarstone, and John Bason together and every one, as all (in solidum) English merchants and freighters, to

312 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

The passage of the Navigation Act of 1660, which was directed against the people of all the Colonies, deprived the Virginians of the advantage of free trade enjoyed by them for so extended a period. In the beginning an illicit commercial intercourse was maintained with Dutch mer- chants, but at the end of ten years, except on the Eastern Shore, where smuggling continued throughout the rest of the century, the law seems to have been substantially en- forced against all foreign countries. Ludwell declared in

Reignard Cornelius, husband and master of the shipp next, under God named, the Foxe, being of burthen about twoe hundred and sixty tunnes and being mounted with six good iron gunnes, and all other ammunition for warre, accordingly made in manner and form as foUoweth, vizt., that the aforesaid husband is obliged with the shipp to bee ready .... to deliver her tight and well caulkt, and also to be p'vided with anchors, cables, sayles and ropes, and in all other needful necessaries to be suffi- ciently provided, the which being thus made ready, then shall the officers and mariners bee taken care for by the fraighters, viz. : theire wages and victualls ; this done then shall the maister sett sayle and run with the first convenient wynd and weather right through the seas to Virginia, and there having delivered and traded her goods, then to lade her again with such goods and wares as the fraighters please, and then the said ship being laded, the maister and officers with the aforesaid shipp (with the next fair wynd and weather which God shall be pleased to send), sett sayle back again for the Tassell and then to the port where he is to deliver. All which, in forme and manner before written, being accomplished, the aforesaid fraighters shall then first and not before, bee engaged and obliged to pay unto the said husband or his owners for his deserved freight, that is to say, for each month that the voyage shall last (to reckon a running monthe according to the almanacke) the summe of five hundred gilders per month, together with average and pilotage according to the manner and custom of the seas, which voyage shall begin when the said shipp shall be without the last boye in the Tassell. And then the said shipp being arrived at her desired port and at anchor, then shall the fraighters bee engaged for seaven months certain, although the voyage could be per- formed in a shorter time, but in case it doth continue longer, then to pay as before understood, viz., every month five hundred gilders; And it is also agreed that the fraighters in their returne, may put into Rochelle to seek convoy, but finding there none for Tassell, the said fraighters may then arrive in the Mase ; there being arrived, the fraight shall then be due

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 313

1(370, that no alien vessel had been allowed to exchange with the people of the Colony, and that the foreign ship- masters who had attempted to sell their commodities for tobacco had been arrested and brought to trial. ^ It was in this year that the Dolphin, which pretended to hail from Dartmouth, but which in reality was the property of Dutchmen, was seized by order of court and her contents confiscated, on the ground that she was navigated contrary to the Act. A similar charge was brought in 1670 against

and the shipp out of pay. Allsoe, it is agreed that if the said shipp do arrive in the Mase, that the fraighters shall pay the half of the charges to bring her to the Tassell or otherwyse do agree thereupon ; moreover it is conditioned that the shipp shall not be carried into any other place to trade in any manner. Alsoe we are on both sides agreed that the shipp shall be ready to sett sayle in the space of one and twenty dayes without further delay or any neglect of either side, beginning upon the ninth of this instant month ; farther, the freighters shall pay for such powder as they shall unnecessarily shoote away or deliver other powder in the place. Allsoe, it is conditioned that the fraighters shall give to the shipp one Jack and flagg ; alsoe it is conditioned that the said husband shall eat and drink and sleep in the cabbin at the fraighters' charges, but his wages to bee payd him by his owners. It is alsoe conditioned that the said husband shall have privilidge to lay into the shipp soe much goods as may produce four hogsheads of tobacco, without paying fraight for ; And it is agreed the shipp shall bee delivered at ... ; whereupon wee bind our- selves each to other for the performance of what is aforesaid mentioned both in our persons and estates, and especially the fraighters' goods, shipped abroad, and the husband and said shipp fraight and all belonging to her, to be under submission unto all courts and justice. All this being uprightly done within ... in the presence of Peter Losooke and Fred- erick Hopkins, as witness hereunto with the Notarie Publique." Becords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1646-1G51, f. p. 30. AVe find the following in Becords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. IGoO-lGGG, p. 342 : " Acct. of Nicholas Brotis, April 15, 1G62, forty ells of white linen . . . at forty gilders, Dutch ells; six and twenty Dutch ells of canvas, sixty-seven gilders ; three pieces of callicoe, thirty-six gilders ; half piece of fu.stian, sixteen gilders."

1 Letter of Secretary Ludwell, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. XXV ; Winder Papers, vol. I, p. 257, Va. State Library.

314 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

the Hope of Amsterdam and the same judgment entered. ^ All trade with Holland carried on after that period had first to pass through England. In consequence of the expense attending this necessity, it soon became unprofit- able.2

The commerce between the Colony and the Dutch com- munity seated at New Amsterdam was one of very con- siderable volume. It was so important, indeed, that in December, 1652, when hostilities were soon to break out between Holland and England, the Directors of the West India Company urged upon Stuyvesant the strong expe- diency of maintaining the most harmonious relations with the people of Virginia in order to retain their trade. ^ In the following spring, a commission was dispatched to Jamestown for the purpose of concluding a treaty, al- though the English and Dutch were now actually at war. The Governor there did not consider that he had the power to enter into such an arrangement without the permission of the authorities of the Commonwealth. A few months later, Stuyvesant sent a second commission, who were to ask for the continuation of the commercial intercourse between Virginia and the people of New Amsterdam, and who were also to secure the right to pay what the mer- chants of the Dutch province owed in the Colony, and to collect what was due them by its inhabitants. It was proposed that the grant of these privileges should be wholly provisional until the consent of their respective governments in Europe to the agreement had been obtained. This arrangement, it would appear, led to an extensive sale of merchandise in Virginia.*

1 Becords of General Court., pp. 8, 12.

2 See Letters of William Fitzhugh, April 26, 1686.

3 Documents Relating to Colonial History of New York, vol. XIV, p. 194. * Ibid., p. 301.

MANUFACTUKED SUPPLIES 315

In 1655, the hostilities between Holland and England having been brought to a close, the Directors of the West India Company again instructed Stuyvesant to promote by every means in his power the commerce between Virginia and the New Netherlands, a matter which they thought devoid of difficulty, as the English were unable to supply the people of the Colony with all of the different kinds of merchandise they required. ^ To encourage the course of trade between the two, Stuyvesant was ordered in 1657 to impose a duty of only one per cent on all commodities shipped from New Netherlands to Virginia. In 1660, the volume of this trade was described as being very great. ^ The vessels from the Dutch province which brought in goods proceeded, as soon as they had secured their cargoes of tobacco, directly to Holland. ^

When the New Netherlands became a possession of England, the volume of trade between that Colony and Virginia continued to be important. In 1666, Jacob Leisler of the former place put on record in the county court of Rappahannock, a power of attorney authorizing Thomas Hawkins to collect the different debts due him in that part of the country, in the form of bills, bonds, and open accounts.* In 1680, Edward Hill of Charles City became the agent of Daniel De Hart of Manhattan Island. 5 Henry Linch, in 1680, entered in the records of Lower Norfolk a power of attorney which he had re-

1 Documents Belating to the Colonial History of New York, vol. XIV, pp. 333, 350. A considerable proportion of the commodities which were now imported into Virginia from New Amsterdam had been brought by way of Holland from the far East. Ibid., p. 3S5.

2/5iU, pp. .389,471.

3 Ibid., vol. XII, p. .328.

* Hecords of Rappahannock County, vol. 166.3-10G8, p. 115, Va. State Library.

^ Records of Henrico County, \ol. 1677-lG92,p. 170, Va. State Library.

316 ECONOMIC HISTOllY OP VIRGINIA

ceived of John Smith of New York to enable him to col- lect the sums in which the planters of that county were indebted to his principal. ^ Julian Verplanck of the same town likewise imported, during a long period of years, a large quantity of goods into Lower Norfolk. ^ Jacobis Vis had important transactions in the exchange of mer- chandise for tobacco in the counties of the Northern Neck.3

The debts due in the Colony to these merchants of New York became very often the subject of suit.* On the other hand, actions were not infrequently brought against their attorneys in Virginia and valuable property attached. In 1698, a judgment was secured by Major William Wilson of Hampton against Thomas Walton in the sum of fifty- two pounds and ten shillings sterling. In the same year, a vessel from New York ran aground near Hampton, and her cargo was seriously damaged.^

1 Records of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1675-1686, f. p. 90.

2 Ibid., 1666-1675, p. 62 ; original vol. 1656-1666, p. 419.

3 Records of Lancaster County, original vol. 1654-1702, p. 332.

* Records of York County, vol. 1684-1687, p. 4, Va. State Library.

5 Records of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1684-1699, pp. 127, 162. Tiiere is an incident connected with the trade between Virginia and New York which shows the determination of the authorities in the former Colony to enforce the Navigation laws. An information was lodged in 1685 by the Attorney-General against the sloop Katharine of New York, on the ground that her master and some of her seamen were not of English nativity. The master appeared in York court and admitted that he was a Frenchman by birth, but insisted that he had received denizen papers from the Governor of New York. The Attorney-General proved that certain commodities of European growth had been imported into Virginia by the sloop, without having been loaded, as the Navigation Act required, in England, Wales, or Scotland. The captain replied by saying that these commodities had been obtained in New York, and he produced in court a certificate from the collector of that port in confirmation of his statement. The case was submitted to the justices, who gave a verdict that the vessel and its contents should be forfeited to the Crown. Records of York County, vol. 1684-1687, p. 148, Va. State Library.

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There are evidences tliat the commercial intercourse between Virginia and New England began at an early date. In 1640, the General Court sitting at New Haven laid down the scale of prices to be used in the purchase of commodities from the Southern Colony.^ The trade with this community increased in volume with the progress of time. In 1645, a suit was brought in New Haven by Richard Catchman, as attorney for Florentine Payne of Virginia, against Thomas Hart, who was largely indebted to Payne in their business transactions in that Colony. ^ John Thompson, at a subsequent date, was engaged in trans- porting supplies to the plantations on the James and York, and Mr. Evance was also the owner of a vessel employed in the same trade. In 1655, complaint was entered in the court at New Haven, that the badness of the biscuit and flour made at Milford had brought discredit in the South- ern Colony upon all goods imported from the north. ^

John Treworgie and Nicholas Shiplagh of New Eng- land, in 1647, appointed Isaac Allerton, Edward Gibbons, and John Richards their agents, to recover the amount in which George Ludlow of York was indebted to them in running accounts.^ During the previous year. Gibbons had dispatched a ship to Virginia with a cargo of goods, which had barely escaped being wrecked.^ In 1648, the dealings of Roger Fletcher of Boston with the Colony were so large that he appointed Thomas Bridge to act as his attorney.^ Three years subsequent to this, there were

1 New Haven Colonial Becords, vol. 1638-1649, p. 35.

^Ibid., p. 170.

3 Ibid., vol. 1653-1665, pp. 142, 317 ; vol. 1638-1649, p. 291.

* Eccords of York County, vol. 1638-1648, p. 423, Va. State Library.

^ Letter of Governor VVintlirop, October, 1646, Neill's Virginia Car- olorum, p. 172, note.

^ Records of Loioer Norfolk County, original vol. 1646-1651, f. p. 61. See also New England Historical and Genealogical Register for April,

318 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

found in tlie waters of Virginia as many as seven vessels belonging to citizens of New England, which had entered to obtain cargoes of the different products of the country in return for merchandise.^ In 1654, a sale was made by Thomas Willett of New Plymouth to Mathew Fassett of Lower Norfolk of his entire interest in the Hopeivell, a vessel of twenty-six tons, to be used in the New England trade. 2 The owners of ships in that region not infre- quently hired them to persons in Virginia who wished to export goods from the North; thus in 1654, William Vin- cent of Lower Norfolk County entered into a charter party with John Hart, by which the latter rented his bark to Vincent for five months and sixteen days at the rate of eight pounds sterling per month, payment to be made in coin, merchandise, and agricultural products to the extent of one-third in eacli.^ Two years later the goods which Francis Emperor and Richard Whiting, prominent citizens of the Colony, were importing from New England in the Dolphin of Salem were damaged by a leak that was sprung not long after the ketch passed out of Nantucket. Captain Emperor, who at this time owned a part interest in the ship, the Francis and Mary, was actively engaged in the trade with the English provinces at the North.* The

1893, p. 201. A few years later the widow of Cornelius Lloyd of Lower Norfolk County appointed Nicholas Hart of New England her attorney, presumably to collect what was due the estate of her late husband in those parts. Eecords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1G51-1656, f . p. 109. He may, however, have been expected to act only in Virginia. See original vol. 1656-1666, p. .338.

1 Weeden's Social and Economic History of Xew England, vol. I, p. 250. The wages of a sailor employed in the navigation of tliese ships were three pounds sterling by the month. The wages of a boy for the same length of time were one pound and fourteen shillings. See Records of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1651-1656, f. p. 129.

2 Becords of Lower Norfolk County, original %)1. 1651-1656, f . p. 83.

3 Ibid., f. p. 129. * Ibid., 1656-1666, pp. 34, 114.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 319

Dolplim, it appeared, belonged to James Uiidenvood, who had a considerable estate in Norfolk County; in 16G2, an attachment was laid against his property because his vessel had on three different occasions taken in tobacco in Vir- ginia without obtaining a license to trade or paying the duties laid down in Acts of Assembly. ^ A few years before, the ship of a prominent merchant of Boston had been seized with its cargo of goods at Nominy by the col- lector of the district on the ground of having violated the law.2

In the interval between 1656 and 1664, there were recorded a number of powers of attorney from merchants in New England, including among many others such men as John Saftin, Timothy Front, and John Giffard of Boston, William Payne of IpsAvich, William Browne of Salem, and John Holland of Dorchester.^ A duty of ten shillings had, previous to 1665, been imposed upon every hogshead exported from Virginia to New England, but in this year, the Assembly having reason to believe that this tax diverted from the Colony an important part of the trade of the Northern provinces, repealed it, thus placing all ships from that quarter upon the same footing as the vessels arriving from England.*

As soon as hostilities broke out between England and Holland in 1672, the ships employed in the trade with New England were in special danger, since, being princi-

1 Becords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1656-1666, p. 350.

2 Neill's Virginia Carolorum, Appx., 418.

^ See Becords of Northampton and Bappahannock Counties. Baffin was very actively engaged in the trade between New England and Vir- ginia, either on his own account or as the agent of others. See Becords ' of Bappahannock County, vol. 1668-1672, p. 117, Va. State Library, for i an instance in which he was the representative of John Pinchon of New ! England.

* Heniug's Statutes, vol. II, p. 218.

320 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

pally ketches, they had little ability to resist an attack of the enemy. In 1673, the Providence^ belonging to Richard Hollingsworth, was captured off Block Island while on a voyage to Virginia, and in the same year, a vessel owned by John Grafton of Salem was also taken. It had on board for the Southern market a large quantity of rum, salt, sugar, mackerel, and cloth. ^

An increased number of powers of attorney from New England merchants were placed on record in the county courts in the interval between 1670 and 1685. Among these merchants were Thomas Hillard, Joseph Townsend, Anthony Haywood, Thomas Maul, John Price, Richard West, Jonathan Corwin, John Pinchon, and Peter Sergeant. They secured their debts by mortgages upon the planta- tions, servants, slaves, and live stock of their debtors. ^ In one instance, Henry Ashton, a planter residing in Lancas- ter County, sold to John Saffin of Boston a house in that town in consideration of twenty-two pounds sterling, but this was probably a transfer of property, in which no security for previous obligations entered.^

1 Documents Belating to the Colonial History of JYeio York, vol. II, p. 662. There are several references in the Records of Xorthampton County to a ketch named the Providence. See original vol. 1664-1674, f. pp. 170, 173. Some years later the brigantine, the Eose of New Eng- land, came near being wrecked in Lynnhaven Bay. Becords of Loicer Norfolk County, original vol. 1675-1686, f. p. 233.

2 Records of Lancaster County, original vol. 1666-1682, p. 398. Becords of -3Iiddlesex County, original vol. 1679-1694, p. 1. In 1673, Anthony Checkley and John Malley of Boston made a single shipment to Cherry- stone in Northampton of goods valued at £171 9s. Becords of Northamp- ton County, original vol. 1664-1674, f. p. 187.

3 Becords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1666-1682, p. 190. There are entries in the county records which show that persons residing in Virginia not infrequently removed to New England, and, on the other hand, that citizens of New England sometimes established themselves in Virginia. In the will of Captain Nathaniel Walker of Northampton (original vol, 1683-1689, p. 24), he describes himself as "late of Boston,

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 321

There is recorded in Lancaster, a letter from Captain James Barton of New England, which throws light on the relations of the merchants there with the trade of Vir- ginia at this time. He urges his correspondent, who was in the latter Colony and who was acting as his attorney, to secure a cargo of tobacco, hides, and pork for the mar- ket in Barbadoes, to be purchased with commodities already in his hands, and with goods that Barton Avould dispatch in his own ketch, now about to sail for Virginia. While the vessel was absent on the voyage to and from the West Indies, that being the second point of destination, the attorney was to make a further collection of hides, which, with tobacco, was to be shipped directly to Holland, an evidence that the merchants of New England openly evaded the injunctions of the Navigation Act.^

In case of disputes between New England traders and Virginian planters, it seems to have been occasionally the habit to settle the causes of difference by reference to arbitrators chosen among the citizens of Virginia. Such was the course pursued in 1680 by Hugh Campbell of Boston and Philip Edwards of Lower Norfolk County. ^ The attorneys representing many of the merchants of New England were shipmasters of the two Colonies.^

The commodities brought in by these vessels were only in small part of West Indian or New England growth or manufacture; through the merchants and shipowners of

now of Northampton." On another occasion, he speaks of himself as "formerly of New England." Becords of Northampton County, original vol. 1664-1674, f. p. 175. In 1679, Thomas Bridge of Lower Norfolk County disposed of several tracts of land which he owned in that couiity, and took up his residence in Salem, Massachusetts. Becords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1675-1686, f. p. 76.

' Becords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1666-1682, p. 440.-

2 Records of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1675-1086, p. UO.

3 Ihid., 1686-1695, f. pp. 58, 73, 84.

322 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

the Northern Colonies, the planters of Virginia obtained a large quantity of supplies which had originally come from Europe. The letters of Colonel William Byrd dis- close the fact that he ordered through his correspondents in New England a great variety of goods, such as clothing, agricultural implements, and the like, a large proportion of which was not obtained by means of tobacco, but was purchased with bills of exchange.^ His example was doubtless imitated by many of his contemporaries, whose letter books have not been transmitted to us.

The proximity of Maryland to Virginia naturally led to a very extensive trade between the two Colonies. As early as 1641, the records of the former show that its in- habitants purchased many of their supplies in the older communities south of the Potomac, and, on the other liand, that citizens of the latter were obtaining goods of differ- ent sorts from persons living in Maryland.'-^ In 1642, Leonard Calvert acknowledged in court that he had at one time owed Thomas Stegg of Virginia as much as five thousand pounds of tobacco, and in the same year James Neale was granted process upon all the debts and merchan- dise which William Holmes of the same Colony possessed in Maryland, where he had been engaged in important transactions.^ Suits on protested bills of exchange indi- cate at this time the volume of the mutual dealings; thus Margaret Brent of Maryland sought to compel Colonel George Ludlow of York to pay a bill of this kind for twenty pounds sterling returned from England dishonored, while Robert Kinsy of Virginia demanded of the court at

1 Records of similar instances are very numerous in liis letter book, now preserved among the Manuscript Collections of the Virginia Histori- cal Society.

2 Archives of Maryland, Court and Testamentary Business, vol. 1637- 1650, pp. IIG, 143.

3 JbiiL, pp. 147, 164.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 323

St. Mary's that Robert Nicliolls should settle an obliga- tion amounting to fifteen hundred pounds of tobacco which he had refused to deliver. In 1643, John HoUis, as the representative of John Hillard of Maryland, was in- structed to enter suit in Virginia against John Thatcher. ^

These suits were not confined to tobacco. In the same year, William Parry of Virginia, through his attorney, Giles Brent, sought in the court at St. Mary's a verdict against Thomas Boys for eight pounds of beaver. This beaver w^as probably the consideration in a sale of cattle, as there seems to have been from an early date a trade in live stock between the citizens of Kecoughtan, the place where Parry resided, and the Colony farther to the north. In 1644, Leonard Calvert and Fulk Brent of Maryland were sued by Richard Bennett for a sum of tobacco due for supplies ; and John Walton by Edward Bland for the value of a boat which Walton had obtained while trad- ing in Virginia. Among other citizens of prominence in the latter Colony who at this time were carrying on com- mercial transactions with merchants in Maryland, were Thomas Mathew, Robert West, and John Hansford.^

When on one occasion it was decided by the authorities in Maryland to make an incursion upon the Indians liv- ing upon the Eastern Shore of that Province, a shallop was dispatched to Virginia to procure twenty corselets, a barrel of powder, four rundlets of shot, a barrel of oat- meal, three firkins of butter, and four cases of spirits. ^ In 1640, a proclamation was issued forbidding the trans- fer in Maryland, without a special license, of goods pur- chased in the Colony to the south. A strict inquiry was

1 Archives of Maryland, Court and Testamentary Business, vol. IGoT- 1G50, pp. 191, 192, 214.

2 Ibid, Parry, p. 220 ; Bennett, p. 2G9 ; Bland, p. 345 ; Mathew, West, and Hansford, pp. 410, 483, 518.

2 Ibid., Fruceedings of Council, vol. 1636-16G7, p. 85.

324 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

required to be made of the sales of liquors on board of the vessel owned by Ralph Beane, a citizen of that Colony.^

During the course of the last half of the century, the volume of trade between Virginia and Maryland steadily increased with their growth in wealth and population. The intercourse between the latter province and Lower Norfolk County seems to have been extremely frequent. Among the citizens of Maryland engaged in these commer- cial transactions, were William Holland, Edward Lloyd, Emanuel Ratcliffe, and Charles Egerton.^ The exchanges with York and the Northern Neck were also very exten- sive. One of the notable features of the commerce be- tween the two peoples at this time was the introduction into Virginia of mares from the Colony north of the Potomac, which was doubtless undertaken with a view to improving the breed of horses.^

The trade with the West Indies began as early as 1633, in which year. Captain Devries states that he made at Jamestown the acquaintance of Captain Stone, Avho had recently arrived from that part of America, it is to be presumed with a cargo of supplies to be bartered for tobacco.* The directors of the Dutch West India Com- pany, writing to Stuyvesant in 1646, called his attention to the fact that persons from Virginia had already made their way to Curacoa, and were exchanging their com- modities for its products.^ Oiilj a few years later, ship- masters from Barbadoes are found selling negroes to the

1 Archives of Maryland, Proceedings of Council, vol. 1636-1607, pp. 94, 177.

2 Becords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1651-165G, f. p. 109. Ibid., original vol. 1675-1686, f. pp. 106, 166, 186.

3 Becords of the General Court, p. 47.

•* Devries' Voyages from Holland to America, pp. 51, 52. ^ Documents Belating to the Colonial History of New York, vol. XIV, p. 77.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 325

planters along the York and James. i It was the custom of many of the vessels sailing from this island to proceed first to Virginia and afterwards to New England. Tlie occasional course of trade is shown in the case of a cargo forwarded to the Colony towards the close of the century by ]\Iessrs. Anthony Palmer and Company ; it was to he delivered to Paul Carrington, who was instructed to exchange it for tobacco, pitch, tar, and live hogs. If he found it impossible to obtain the return cargo in the course of five weeks, or to secure a freight rate of five pounds sterling a ton, he was commanded to dispatch the ship to Philadelphia with a load of pitch and tar,^ In a vessel which left Barbadoes in 1661, the Charles of Southton, there were among the consignments for Vir- ginia, six hogsheads of bay salt.^ In some instances these consignments were restricted to negroes, in others to sugar, rum, and molasses.* How large they were very often, is illustrated in the case of William Byrd. On one occasion he obtained from this islajid twelve hundred gallons of rum, five thousand pounds of muscovado sugar, three tons of molasses, two hundred pounds of ginger, and one cask of lime-juice ; on another, four thousand gallons of rum, five thousand pounds of muscovado, one very heavy barrel of white sugar, and ten tons of mo- lasses.^ The planter who had gone to Barbadoes to buy these commodities in person was frequently able

1 Bexords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol, 1646-1G51, f. p. 115. The monthly wages of these shipmasters were frequently paid in sugar at the rate of six pennies the hundred-weight, ten pounds in the hundred being allowed for shrinkage. liecords of Lower Norfolk CounVj, original vol. 1646-1G51, f. p. 205.

2 William and 31ary College Quarterly, April, 1893, pp. 200, 201.

3 liecords of Lancaster County, original vol. lGGO-1082, p. 31.

* Becords of Bappnhannock County, original vol. 1G5G-1GG4, p. 274. Records of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1GGG-I07u, p. 23. 5 Letters of William Byrd, October 18, 1G86, April IG, 1G88.

326 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

to make his purchases with bills of exchange which he had brought with him ; thus in 1668, John Keele pre- sented to Nathaniel Cooke of that island, three instru- ments of this character calling for j)ayment in sugar, amounting in the aggregate to nearly five thousand pounds.^ Disputed accounts arising in the course of this trade were carried to the General Court in Vir- ginia for decision, and were ordered to be settled in kind, and not in coin or tobacco. An instance of this nature occurred in 1673, when this body, in a suit by Mr. Edmund Cowles against the attorneys of Mr. Wil- liam Marshall, required the latter to deliver two hogs- heads of muscovado sugar, one puncheon of rum, and eighty -five gallons of molasses.^

Tobacco and grain were not the only articles used in procuring the commodities of Barbadoes ; in 1686, the sloop Happy transported from Lancaster County to that island, two firkins of butter, two barrels of pork, and twenty-two sides of tanned leather, in addition to one hundred and forty-four bushels of Indian corn.^

Many instances might be given of persons who were either residing in Virginia or who were visiting it for the special purpose, being invested with a power of attorney by merchants of Barbadoes who had disposed of goods there. In 1665, Edwin Thomas, Avho was on the point of setting out for the Colony from that island, was ap- pointed the factor of Giles Hall, with the authority to gather together the different amounts in the form of pork and beef wdiich were due him for West Indian goods, delivered some time previously.^ A power of attorney is

1 Becords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1660-1675, p. 41. - Becords of General Court, p. 158.

^ Becords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1682-1687, p. 111. * Becurds of Bappahannock County, vol. IGU0-IOG8, p. 87, Va. State Library.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 327

recorded in Rappahannock in the same year from Epiph- any Hill of Barbadoes, to Mr. Gates Hussey of that county, to collect all indebtedness to Hill, not only in the form of pork and beef, but also of tobacco and money sterling, as evidenced by note, bond, and judgment.^ jNIany ships from year to year arrived in Virginia with cargoes of West Indian commodities, the owners of which depended on casual purchasers for the disposal of their stock, these purchasers being sought by passing from landing to landing in the principal rivers, the lower rates at which these articles were often sold under these cir- cumstances inducing many planters who were engaged in trade not to send their orders to merchants in the West Indies. 2 The operations of these persons covered all parts of the Colony, from the country adjacent to the Potomac on the north to the valley of the James on the south. The rum, sugar, and molasses were conveyed in casks and barrels. The former not infrequently held only twenty-

1 Hecords of Bappahannoclc County, vol. 1663-1668, p. 85, Va. State Library. The following entries in the county records will further show the intimacy of the connection between Virginia and Barbadoes in this age. John Thomas, of the sloop Content, belonging to the Isle of Barbadoes, appoints as his attorney in Virginia, Thomas Ward. Records of Norfolk County, original vol. 1695-1703, f. p. 125. Benjamin Dwight, of Barbadoes, sues Christopher Wormeley for debt. See orders, Oct. 7, 1689, Becords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1680-1694. It is stated in the inventory of John Godsill of Lancaster County that a parcel of rum belonging to his estate is expected from Barbadoes. Records of Lancaster County, original vol. 1674-1687, f. p. 22. The \V\\\ of John Morrah of Rappahannock County contains the following: "I give to my godson, Thomas Warden of Barbados, 1000 lbs. of muscovado sugar, now in the hands of Joseph Warden of Barbados, his father." Vol. 1677-1682, p. 17, Va. State Library. Nicholas Ware of Rappahannock County "acknowledges himself bound to John Vassall of Barbados in 17,234 lbs. tobacco." Original vol. 1656-1664, p. 274. See also, William and Mary College Quarterly for April, 1892, p. 145.

2 Letters of William Byrd, May 29, 1689.

328 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

five gallons, eight being required to make a ton. The loss in consequence of the number of casks, casks and contents not being discriminated in the weight, was esti- mated at one-third. The same objection was urged against the sugar-barrel, which, by increasing the number needed in transportation, added in proportion to the amount paid in freight, without any compensation for so much dead material. ^

The commercial intercourse between Virginia and the islands of the West Indies was often of an illicit charac- ter, the duty on liquor, so much of which was imported into the Colony from these islands, causing many ship-

1 Among the merchants of Barbadoes who made large sales of com- modities in Virginia in the course of the last half of the seventeenth century were James Graham, Thomas Beard, John Felton, Richard Bats, Christopher Mercer, John Barwick, and John Sadler. The trade between Virginia and the West Indies was not confined to Barbadoes. The fol- lowing is taken from the Eecords of Lower Norfolk County : " Know all men . . . that I, William Sheers, of London, merchant, have agreed with Mr. John Brett of Nansemond, merchant, that I, the said William Sheers, is to receive aboard ye ship Francis and Mary, now riding in Elizabeth River and bound for Antigua, Mavis and St. Christopher, within thirty days after ye date, six head of neat cattle with provisions for them, on the said Brett paying for their transportation 700 lbs. of the best muscovado sugar, to be paid at ye arrival of the ship at either of above places within ten days, the said Sheers to find water for said cattle until their arrival, and one hogshead of corn for every one of them, freight free ; and for all other goods Brett shall have aboard is to pay at ye rate of 350 lbs. good muscovado sugar, the penalty being 1600 lbs. Virginia toba,cco." This contract is dated 1657. ^ee Eecords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1656-1666, p. 133. In 1685, William Dundas of Jamaica appointed Henry Spratt and Antony Lawson of the "continent of Virginia" his agents in the collection of debts due him by the estate of Robert Calderwood. Eecords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1675-1686, f. p. 202. In 1693, John Wilkinson, Governor of the Bermudas, empowered Thomas Walke of Lower Norfolk County to act as his attor- ney in that county. See original vol. 1685-1696, f. p. 194. Reference to a Jersey ship will be found in Eecords of General Court, p. 99, and to a Jersey merchant's estate in Virginia, in ibid. p. 62.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 329

owners and masters to make no report to the collector of the district in which their vessels came to anchor. The unlawful trading was especially prevalent on the Eastern Shore and in the Lower James, as these localities offered many facilities for eluding the vigilance of the ofhcers of the re venue. 1

In one instance only has evidence of a trade between South America and Virginia in the seventeenth century been discovered. ^ In 1G70, it was decided that the arti- cles enumerated in the Act of Navigation should not be transported directly to Ireland. Previous to the passage of this statute, as well as subsequent to it, there was a considerable volume of commerce between Virginia and the Irish ports. ^

There are a few indications of commercial intercourse between Virginia and Scotland in the seventeenth cen- tury. In 1638, a special warrant was issued to John Burnett of Aberdeen, granting him the privilege of trad- ing in the Colony upon condition that he paid the cus- toms due upon the tobacco to be exported by him, and that he gave bond that he would only unload in Scot- land.* In 1670, Thomas Bushrod, acting as the attorney of Thomas Lowry of Edinburgh, obtained judgment in the

1 See Official Letters of Gov. Spotsivood, Virginia Historical Society Publications.

- William and Mary College Quarterly, April, 1893, p. 152.

3 This was a regulation of Parliament. See acquittance in Virginia, in 1G70, of the ship Anthony of Londonderry, against which an in- formation had been lodged by one of the collectors, on the ground that she was not a free vessel. Becords of General Court, p. 40. For evi- dences of the trade between Virginia and Ireland, see Becords of Loxcer Norfolk County, original vol. 1666-1075, pp. 46, 179; Becords of Lan- caster County, original vol. 1G87-1700, pp. 167, 177 ; original vol. 1666- 1682, p. 150.

^British State Papers, Colonial, vol. IX, No. 118; Sai)ishury Ab- stracts for 1G8S, p. 23, Va. State Library.

330 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

General Court against Samuel Onsteen for one hundred and twenty-seven pounds sterling, and four years later the same factor brought suit against William Drummond and Samuel Austin for the payment of a somewhat smaller amount. ^ In 1697, Benjamin Harrison shipped a cargo of tobacco directly to Scotland, but it is worthy of note that the name of the vessel was illegally changed in order to enter the port of its destination. ^

1 Becords of General Coiirt, pp. 5, 173.

2 British State Papers, Colonial, Virginia B. T., vol. II, B. 3.

CHAPTER XVI

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES : FOREIGN — continued

The great bulk of imported supplies consumed in the Colony after the dissolution of the Company, as previous to that event, was obtained from England, with which kingdom the course of trade differed from that carried on with the northern settlements and with the West Indies only in volume. A detailed account of its character and the agencies by which it was conducted is of general application to the commercial intercourse of Virginia, in the seventeenth century, with all the countries having transactions with its people. Among the English mer- chants who brought in supplies after the revocation of the letters patent in 1624, and previous to 1700, there were few who could be described as casual dealers, that is, dealers who were without representatives in the Col- ony, to whom their goods could be consigned to be dis- posed of gradually, but who instead relied upon the chance of selling their commodities as they passed in their ships from river to river. The objections to this manner of business were numerous. As early as 1635, Captain Devries declared, as the result of his own obser- vation, that all who conveyed supplies to Virginia with the object of exchanging them for tobacco, should erect private storehouses to be placed in the care of a factor, who should be required to remain in the Colony in order to be prepared at the proper season to take possession of

332 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

the crops of the planters to whom goods had been sold on credit, not improbably twelve months beforehand. ^ The English merchants were in the habit of doing this, and in consequence enjoyed a notable advantage over their Dutch rivals. The opinion of Captain Devries was just as correct in its relation to the condition of trade fifty years later as it was at the particular period in which he wrote. In 1683, Colonel William Fitzhugh, who had a thorough knowledge of the course of business in Virginia, corresponding with certain shipowners in New England who had recently for the first time sent to the Colony a vessel loaded with merchandise, but with no one to dispose of it but the captain, who was ignorant of the country, stated that casual trading was destructive of all profit, be- cause the owner of the goods, being in Virginia only for a short time, had to hasten his departure to reduce the cost attendant upon the navigation of his ship, and was, there- fore, compelled to sell in order to secure a cargo of to- bacco, whether its price was high or low. If, on the other hand, the merchandise, as soon as it was brought to the Colony, was placed in the hands of a factor, the latter could as occasion arose gradually dispose of it to advan- tage, being in a position to wait for an advance in rates if those prevailing were not satisfactory. When the vessel belonging to the owner of the commodities arrived, the products for which these commodities had previously from time to time been exchanged would be ready for delivery at certain places, and the expense of a long stay would be avoided. These facts were well known to the English traders and governed their action. ^

The English merchants who supplied the planters with manufactured articles may be roughly divided into two

1 Devries' Voyages from Holland to America, p. 112.

2 Lett&rs of William Fitzhugh, Feb. 5, 1G82-83.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 333

classes: first, those who resided in tlie mother country and disposed of goods to the colonists either directly upon the receipt of the tobacco in England, or who shipped goods to Virginia to be sold there by factors; secondly, those who lived either permanently or tempora- rily in the Colony and exchanged the commodities which they had ordered, for the products of the country, acting either in their own persons or through local representa- tives in their different mercantile transactions. To the first class belonged men of such standing as Micajah Perry, Thomas Lane, John Gary, John Cooper, George Richards, Peter Paggin, and John Bland. These Eng- lish merchants in many instances had brothers or near relatives in Virginia who served as their agents. This was the case wdth Micajah Perry. It was also the case with John Bland. The English traders who resided in the Colony were men like Francis Lee, John Chew, Thomas Burbage, Robert Vaulx, and John Greene. In some instances they returned to England. This was the case with Robert Vaulx,i John Greene,^ and Francis Lee.^ Participation in commercial exchange Avith the Virginians does not appear to have been the direct means of acquir- ing vast fortunes on the part of the merchants who re- sided in the mother country, although it is known that many persons engaged in this trade were men in affluent circumstances. Of the twenty-four who, towards the close of the seventeenth century, furnished the greater portion of the supplies of various kinds imported into the Colonies of Maryland and Virginia, not one bore a name

1 Becords of York County, vol. 1684-1687, p. 1G3, Va. State Library.

2 References to Greene will be found in vol. 1663-1GG8 of Eappahan- noclc Records, Va. State Library.

3 In Records of Middlesex County (original vol. 1673-1685, p. 103), Lee speaks of himself as "of London, formerly of Virginia." See also Rec- ords of York, 1694-1702, p. 35, Va. State Library.

334 ECONOMIC HISTOllY OF VIRGINIA

which is identified in an illustrious degree with the subse- quent history of England either in a social or political way.^

1 The following is the list : Micajah Perry, Thomas Lane, James Dry- den, Jonathan Mathews, Richard Cox, Samuel Groom, Anthony Stratton, John Gary, Josiah Bacon, John Blackall, John Browne, Edward Little- page, Robert Bristow, James Wagstaffe, John Taillor, Robert Ruddle, Arthur Bayley, Robert Bristow, Jr., Timothy Keyser, John Cooper, George Richards, Daniel Parker, Christopher Morgan, Sr., Peter Paggin. See British State Papers, America and West Indies, No. 512 ; McDonald Papers, vol. VII, pp. 251, 252, Va. State Library. Among the other English merchants who were engaged in the trade with Virginia were the following : York County — Stephen Duport, Peregrine Browne, John Lee, Josep)h Hunter, Joseph Francis, Daniel Jenkins, Samuel Dean, Richard Starkey, Thomas Walsh; Lower Norfolk — William Bird of Bristol, Nathan Stainesmore, William Atterbury of London, Francis Wells, Thomas Meriwether, Joseph Knott, John Muuyon, John Kick, Isaac Merritt, James Harris (some of these merchants refer to themselves now as of England, and now as of Lower Norfolk); Accomac — Thomas Willbourne of York, Francis Lee of London; Rappahannock — David GriSin of London, George Daly of Plymouth, John Nuttall, Thomas Griffith, Francis Benton, William Jenkins, Richard Gower ; Middlesex — William Twigg of Dublin, Daniel Stoodeley of London, Francis Moore of Dublin, George Lee, Roger Burrough, Gawin Corbin, Edward Hill, John Bowles, Perient Trott, Richard Wilson, John Jeffreys, James Gary, William Crisp, all of London ; Richard Lonnon of Dublin, Henry Ashton of Liverpool, John Goodwin, Jonathan Mathews, John Taylor; Lancaster — Thomas Ellis, Edward Harper, both of London; William Jennings, Anthony Cock of Bristol, John Hinde, Philip Taylor, Mathew Pitt, Philip Whistler of London, Thomas City, Francis Febran, Thomas Chitwood, Robert Hooper, John Fish, Thomas Booth, John Drake, all of London ; Thomas Cooper, Joseph Hunt, and John Jayne of Bris- tol ; Northampton — Nicholas Jackson, Thomas Heeman, Isaac Foxcroft, Ralph Allen, Thomas Buckner, Richard Corkhill of Biddeford, Henry Scarborough, John Martyn, John Bryce, Edward Prescott of London, Joseph Hunt of Bristol. The estates of many of these merchants at their deaths were inventoried in Virginia, showing that they were property holders if not residents at one time of the Colony. Thomas Chitwood is referred to sometimes as of Lancaster, and sometimes as of England. " Some from being wool hoppers and of meaner employment in England," remarks the author of Leah and Bachel, " have in Virginia become great merchants and attained to the most eminent advancement the Country afforded." p. 20, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 335

There is reason to think that the trade with Virginia was not steadily lucrative to an uncommon degree after all the necessary cliarges liad been met, although the nominal margin of gain appeared to be very large. This margin is easily discovered through the whole extent of the century. In the winter of 1623, which, as has been seen, was one of such extraordinary want as to raise the prices of all articles of food to a point hitherto unknown, George Harrison wrote to his brother in England that if he would secure a vessel and send her to Virginia with a cargo of wine, but- ter, cheese, sugar, and other provisions, he could easily obtain a profit of two hundred pounds sterling at the least, about five thousand dollars in our modern currency. The amount required for the purchase of such a cargo in England rendered this sum equivalent to a gain of not less than fifty per cent, perhaps even to a gain of a hun- dred. ^ In 1626, the margin, after paying three shillings a pound for tobacco, was so small, that the English mer- chants declared that there was no inducement to exchange their goods for that commodity. The regulation fixing this as the price was revoked, and the English traders permit- ted to obtain, for their goods, tobacco at the lowest rates at which they could purchase it, in order to ensure some profit after the payment of all expenses. ^ This profit is stated to have ranged in 1638 from six to ten pence on each pound of that product disposed of at wholesale.^ About

1 George Harrison to his Brother, British State Papers, Colonial, No. 17, vol. II ; Sainsbimj Abstracts for 1623, p. 78, Va. State Library.

- Instructions to Governor Yeardley,1020, J3r«<is/j State Papers,Colonial; Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. II, p. 394. In the In- structions to Berkeley, 1641, there was the follovping clause: "that the merchant be not constrained to take tobacco at any price in exchange for his wai-es, but that it be lawful for him to make his own bargain for his goods." British State Papers, Colonial; McDonald Papers, vol. I, p. 358, Va. State Library.

3 Remonstrance of Planters, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. IX, No. 100 ; Winder Papers, vol, I, p. 124, Va. State Library.

336 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

the middle of the century, the difference in the price of goods in England and Virginia was in the ratio of two to three. When Sir Edward Verney decided to send his son to the Colony to open a plantation, he wrote for informa- tion to an agent in London who enjoyed the fullest oppor- tunities of learning the relative values of articles in the two countries ; there was nothing, this agent replied, that costs twenty shillings in England which would not, if con- veyed to Virginia, bring thirty shillings.^ The margin of advance, thirty-three and one third per cent, was not extraordinary when it is recalled that out of it the duty on English exports as well as the duty on Virginian im- ports, if they happened to be liquors, had first to be paid, not to mention the heavy charge upon each ton of freight in the ocean voyage. ^ In 1658, a grandson of Sir Richard Newport, who had been a resident of Virginia for several years, returned to his English home with the report that the profits of trade with the planters were so small as to be unworthy of consideration. ^ At later periods, there were times in which the chance of gain fell off to such a point that the merchants no longer regarded it as advis- able to transport their commodities to the colonial market. In 1690, Colonel Fitzhugh complained of the great uncer- tainty as to whether vessels from England would in that year make their appearance in the waters of the rivers in his part of Virginia.* Scarcity of shipping in the James was not infrequently a subject of comment with Colonel

1 Verney Papers, Camden Society Publications ; Neill's Virginia Caro- lorum, p. 110.

2 In 1654, the Act " forbidding above fifty per cent gain in merchandise " was repealed. See Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 413. In 1661, the law permitted the settlement of the tax of two shillings per hogshead in goods at thirty per cent advance upon first cost. See Ibid., vol. II, p. 131.

3 Boyal Hist. 3ISS. Commission, Fifth Report, p, 145. * Letters of William Fitzhugh, Aug, 10, 1690.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 337

Byrd in Ids correspondence, the explanation heing the same in both instances. The margin of gain was very high in some years, but on the average perhaps was mod- erate only. Colonel Fitzhugh, who was unusually familiar with all the conditions affecting it, declared that unless the tobacco obtained in exchange for goods had been pur- chased at a very low figure, the chief means by which the fortunes in that age were accumulated, the profit even in favorable years would be quite meagre. A variety of points had to be Aveiglied in considering the prospect of securing even this degree of profit. These points included the length of the stay which the ship containing the cargo of merchandise would be compelled to make in Virginia before the goods could be sold, this being necessarily a source of great expense ; the outlay required to cover the charges for storage and dunnage ; the commission fees to be paid to the factors ; the losses frequently incurred by their dishonesty, or, if they were conscientious in their dealings, by their negligence and carelessness, whether they were natives of Virginia or England ; the uncer- tainty in relying upon an agent if he was expected to per- form the duties of a shipmaster, since if he gave the greater part of his attention to the sale of his cargo, and in pur- suit of that purpose absented himself from his ship, his crew would be slow in moving the vessel from place to place where tobacco was to be secured ; and if, on the other hand, he showed indifference in looking for pur- chasers, a still greater amount of time would be lost to the merchant in whose employment he was engaged. ^

None of these considerations had application in the cases

in which the planter shipped his annual crop directly to

the merchant in England, with instructions to exchange it

for certain commodities to be returned to Virginia. There

1 Letters of William Fitzhugh, April 8, 1G87.

338 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

was probably no one who produced tobacco in very large quantities who was not in correspondence with persons en- gaged in business residing in London, Bristol, Plymouth, Liverpool, and other English towns on the seaboard or river coast. As early as 1628, perhaps in consequence of the exactions of the traders in Virginia, some of the colo- nists united in exporting their tobacco to the mother coun- try, where it was sold for the articles they needed, i This course of action was continued by individual planters, especially by those who purchased the crops of their neighbors in great quantities in hope of securing a wide margin of gain ; the consignments of such men were eagerly sought by the English merchant, as in the bulk they were so large as to afford a certain profit. Every shipment by the planter in Virginia to his English corre- spondent was accompanied by a bill of lading, giving the person to whom it was addressed the right to sell the products named in it ; the English merchant thus brought into relations with the colonist was not only his commis- sion merchant in the modern sense of the term, but also his general banker, having many hundred pounds sterling on deposit to his credit. ^ These balances were easily con- verted into such goods as the planter thought proper to direct to be sent him ; if the cost of the articles speci- fied, as a whole, should exceed the amount of money re- sulting from the sale of the tobacco, the merchant was

1 Neill's Virginia Carolorum, p. 55. The planters who accompanied their crops to England in 1628 in the Temperance may not have in- tended to return.

2 Numerous accounts of Virginian planters with their English mer- chants are preserved in the records of the seventeenth century. The fol- lowing may be given as an example {Becords of York County, 1657-1662, p. 413, Va. State Library) :

"June 29, 1659. Mr. Richard Jones for 28 hhd. received from Wil- liam and John and Thomas and Ann ships containing about 10,938 lbs. of tobacco :

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 339

instructed to abate the order, or was requested to cover the deficiency upon the strength of a promise to make a second consignment to him.^ Many disputes arose between the phanters and their English correspondents as to fair- ness of dealing respecting the charges for commission and as to the quality of goods returned. The original prices

To custom on same 10,938 lbs £45.11.06

" Excise " " " 45. 11. 06

" . . . at 2^'! per 20^'' 4.11.09

" Carriage of 28 lihd. at 8^" per hlid. ... 18. 08

" petty cliarges at 20511 2. 00. 08

" Virginia Duty 2^^ per hhcl 2. 10. 00

" portridge at 4s>> per bhd 9.04

" Cooperage at 4sh 9. 04

" Freiglit 28 lihd. , 7 £ per ton 49.00.00

" Wareliouse room at 2sh 2. 10. 00

154. 10. 09 To Mf Jolm Wliirken who went over in the

Thomas and Ann ship 22. 11. 00

To ditto on bill of Exchange 4. 00. 00

181. 01. 09 To goods consigned to M! Richard Jones and

sent in ye i7o)ior 21.01.11

202. o;j. 08 Cr. M' Richard Jones is credited for 28 hhd. received from aboard the William and John and the Thomas and Ann q'. neat 10,938 lbs.

©6-1 per pound £273.09.00

M^ Richard Jones is D": upon yis yeares Ac- count £177. 00. 00

£ 90. 09. 00 M^ Jones is debtor for goods sent in the Ilonor

yis yeare £ 21. 01. 00

Upon a bill 04. 00. 00

£ 25.01.00"

See, for a still more interesting example, the account preserved in Records of York County, vol. 1057-1002, p. 297, Va. State Library. See also Ibid., vol. 1675-1684, p. 442 ; also Records of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1684-1699, p. 395, Va. State Library.

1 Letters of William Fitzhugh, July 11, 1G92.

340 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

were also at times causes of much dissatisfaction, and these grounds for occasional discontent partially explain the number of English merchants with whom the Virginian dealt when he was in the habit of exporting tobacco to England on his own account. The reasons for dissatis- faction, however, were not all on the side of the planter ; there were cases in which the English trader had occasion to regret that he had advanced supplies beyond the value of the consignment which he had received. In 1688, a petition was brought before the Privy Council, in which it was affirmed that Edmund Scarborough was indebted to the petitioners to an extent exceeding seven hundred pounds sterling, the consideration being large quantities of goods shipped from time to time to Scarborough's plantation, which still remained unpaid for. This sum amounted in our modern currency perhaps to sixteen or seventeen thousand dollars. ^

The articles ordered by the planters of their English merchants represented a great variety in kind and quality. Striking instances of this fact are scattered throughout the letter books of Fitzhugh and Byrd. On one occasion Fitzhugh instructs his English merchant to send to him five dozen gallon stone jugs;^ on another, a new feather- bed with curtains and valance, and also an old feather- bed, as he had been informed that one which had never been used was apt to be full of dust. On still another occasion he wrote for two quilts, a side-saddle, a large silver salt-cellar, a pair of woman's gallooned shoes, a table, a case of drawers and a looking-glass, two leather carpets, several gallons of oil, and a box of glass with white lead and colors.^ Many of the orders given by Fitzhugh

1 Privy Council to Governor Berkeley, British State Papers, Colonial ; Sainsbury Abstracts for 1668, p. 138, Va. State Library.

2 Letters of William Fitzhugh, May 22, 1683. 3 i^a.^ July 20, 1698.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 341

related to clothing. Writing in 1681 to his merchant in London, he directed that the balance which remained un- disposed of after the several commissions he had given had been filled, should be expended in the purchase of linen, including the finest holland. There should also be one piece of kenting and several pieces of dimit}'. The selec- tion ^yas left to his ccrrespondent.^ In a subsequent letter Fitzhugh expresses himself in less general terms, in asking to be sent to him, with bills of lading, to be delivered at his landing, a certain quantity of kerseys, cot- tons, and coarse canvas, thread and silk, shoes and iron- ware, and also a hundred-weight of Gloucester cheese. ^ Several years afterwards he directed Mr. Sergeant in Lon- don to devote the proceeds of the tobacco which he had just shipped to him to the j)urchase of kerseys, cottons, blue linen, a bale of canvas, thirt}^ ells of holland sheeting, nails, hoes, and axes.^ His orders were not forwarded to London merchants alone. In 1681, he is found in corre- spondence Avith Stephen Watts of Bristol, who is told to return for the tobacco consigned to him two dozen pairs of shoes, among other articles,* and similar instructions were given by him to merchants who resided in other towns in England. Fitzhugh, by this course of exchange, obtained goods not only for use in his own household, but also for sale to his neighbors.

Colonel William Byrd, whose home was situated on James River, which was in more direct communicati(m with England than the Potomac and even the Rappa- hannock, was equally in the habit of giving to his English merchants both large and small commissions, to be filled on receipt of the tobacco and bills of exchange forwarded by him. In 1685, he is found writing for a hat and a pair

1 Letters of William Fitzhwih, June 7 ,1G81. 3 7;,,^?., July 23, 1G!«.

2 Ihid., June 15, 21, 1092. ^ Ibid., March 30, 1081.

342 ECONOMIC HISTOKY OF VIRGINIA

of slioes, and in the same year for a saddle and for letter paper. In 1690, lie orders to be sent to him half a dozen riding neck-cloths and tAvo or three pairs of linen stocks. While his house at Westover was in the course of erection in 1690, he instructs his English merchant to ship to him in Virginia a bedstead, bed, and curtains, a looking-glass, one small and one middling oval table, and a dozen Russian leather chairs. From time to time he procures from Eng- land through the same agency clothing of every kind and a great variety of European wines. ^

It was not uncommon for the captain of a vessel on the point of transporting the crop of a planter to England, to enter into a contract with him, by the terms of which, the shipmaster was to exchange his cargo in the mother coun- try for goods specified in the agreement between the two parties. An instance of this nature is found in the records of Rappahannock for 1669. Thomas Butler of that county in this year bound himself to deliver to George Brown, the captain of the Mizaheth of London, three hogsheads of sweet-scented tobacco belonging to the choicest portion of his crop. Brown was to carry this tobacco to England and there was to dispose of it for money sterling. After having laid aside twenty-two pounds for his own use, the amount of a claim which he held against Butler for goods previously sold to him. Brown was to employ whatever remained in buying linen and woollen cloths, shoes, and stockings, to be conveyed to Butler in Virginia. ^

The general course of the English merchant in dealing with the planters was to send out a cargo to Virginia, there to be placed in the hands of a factor who had re-

1 LpMers of William Bijrd, June 5, 6, 1685 ; August 8, 1G90. This was not the present Westover house.

- Eecords of Bappahannock County, original vol. 1668-1672, p. 291.

MANUFACTURED SUrPLIES 343

ceivecl formal authority to serve as liis agent. The cliar- acter of this cargo depended in large measure upon the special line of trade which the person who dispatched it pursued. Every branch appears to have been represented by the English merchants who had commercial intercourse with Virginia in the seventeenth century; there were tallow-chandlers, haberdashers, distillers, stationers, pew- terers, fletchers, ironmongers, cordwainers, apothecaries, felt-makers, merchant tailors, weavers, goldsmiths, coopers, vintners, and woollen drapers. Only in a few cases did they, in the powers of attorney which they gave to their factors in the Colony, describe themselves as tobacconists. ^ The value of the goods sent by the English traders to the Colony was very great; those included in a single shipment made in 1681 were held at twelve thousand pounds sterling.^ Instances of cargoes appraised at two thousand pounds sterling were not uncommon, a sum with a purchasing power perhaps equivalent to as much as fifty thousand dollars at present.^ A fair notion may be obtained of the size of many of these cargoes from the warrants issued in the time of the Protectorate giving permission to mer- chants to transport shoes to Virginia, there being a law then prohibiting the exportation of leather without a spe- cial license from the Government. In 1653, licenses of this kind were granted to the masters and owners of twelve

1 Records of York County, vol. 1684-1687, p. 171 ; Ihid., vol. 1691- 1701, p. 89, Va. State Library.

2 Petition of William Fisher et al., British State Papers, Colonial; Sainsbury Abstracts for 16S1, p. 104, Va. State Library.

3 British State Papers, Colonial, vol. IX, No. 64. In 1678, James Vaulx imported a cargo of goods valued at £260. Becords of York County, vol. 1675-1684, p. 390, Va. State Library. A cargo brought into Northampton County about the middle of the century by Edward Pres- cott was appraised at £ 471 18s. Gd. See Becords of that county, original vol. 1654-1655, f. p. 43.

344 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

vessels to carry out respectively eighteen hundred pairs, making twenty-one thousand and six hundred pairs in all;i live years later, the masters and owners of ten ships were authorized to export to Virginia twenty- four thousand pairs. ^ During the forty years which elapsed between the Restoration and the close of the cen- tury, the increase in this one item of imports must have been extremely large in consequence of the growth in pop- ulation. ^ The same expansion, it is reasonable to infer, extended to the great variety of other goods brought in at the same time.

If the English merchant who had determined to export goods to Virginia did not possess a ship in which they might be conveyed, he entered into a contract with tlie owner of a vessel for their transfer, the goods themselves, however, remaining in charge of the person whom he had appointed to accompany them. Several traders who fol- lowed different branches of business often united in char- tering a ship and employing a single factor to represent their several interests in the cargo. In many cases, the captain of the vessel acted for the English merchant whose property he had taken on board, such an agent receiving instructions which were generally placed on record as soon as he arrived in the Colony.* The commodities trans-

1 Sainsbury's Calendar of State Papers, Colonial, 1574-1660, p. 411.

2 Inter. Entry Book, vol. 106, p. 762.

3 It is not improbable that in the previous cases the word " Virginia " was intended to include the English plantations in the West Indies and all the English colonies in North America.

4 The agency of the captain was sometimes made conditional, as the

following from Eecords of York County, vol. 1671-1694, p. 46, Va. State

Library, will show :

"London 4«i Xber 1672.

Mr. Thomas Warren. —The goods which I have on board y shipp vizt. the 3 chests and 6 bbls. etc., which goe consigned to M^ Samuel Trevillian, be pleased to take into ye charge of it, should please God to

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 345

ported were stored in large cases, chests, trunks, liogs- heads, barrels, and casks. At times, a heavy loss resulted to the owner not only from rough handling and the casu- alties of an ocean passage, but also from embezzlement by the seamen and even by the master of the ship.i If a war was in progress, there was always peril of capture by the enemy. In 1665, the Dutch, who were then engaged in hostilities with the English, destroyed a fleet of merchant- men in the mouth of the James. From the earliest period, the vessels employed in the Virginian trade were under the necessity of carrying guns. In 1633, the number in single instances ranged from twenty to twenty-four.^ A pro- take away the said Samuel Trevillian, and dispose thereof to my best advantage, remitting the proceeds thereof home in the best sweete scented tobacco in your owne and M": Fassett's shipp, and wherein I have taken 30 hlid. certaine and five uncertaine if notice thereof be given in 10 daies, and it should have occasion to make use of any factor or merchant therein, the disposall of any concerne shall decide you therein if it may be convenient for you to make use of my friend and kinsman, Mr John Mohun, leaving what cannot sell on his hands. M". Trevillian hath invoice hereof, which in case of his own mortality he hath promised shall be delivered to you.

Your friend,

Bernard Mitchell."

1 British State Papers, Colonial, vol. IX, No. 64. The following is from the Records of G-eneral Court, p. 146: "Judgment is granted Col. Daniel Parke Esq. against M^ Thomas Warren, commander of the ship Daniel in Virginia for payment of £29, IZ^^, 2^, being for money due for goods of the said Parke damnified in the said ship in her late voyage from London, the money to be paid within 40 days upon her next arrival in England." Five other persons also suffered losses in the same voy- age. See reference to the robbery of a sloop which had been sent in to a river landing with a cargo of goods taken from a vessel lying in the main stream. Becords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1680-1686, orders July 13, 1681.

^ Devries' Voyages from Holland to America, p. 112. In time of war the masters of shijis were directed by law to seek certain places as safe harbors. A proclamation of Nicholson in 1691 named the following : "Upper James, Sandy Point; Lower James, Elizabeth River; Nansemund,

346 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

vision was expressly adopted that each ship plying be- tween the mother country and the Colony should not only be furnished with mounted cannons, but should also keep on board men who had been trained in their use. At the time of the passage of this law, there was danger of pirates making an attack upon the vessels entering or leaving the mouth of the Chesapeake. ^ In 1684, a ketch was furnished by the English Government for the- protec- tion of the Virginian coast as well as for the arrest of illegal traders. Occasions arose when its assistance was very much needed; thus in 1699, the Maryland Merchant., while lying in the waters of Virginia, was seized and plundered by an unknown ship carrying thirty guns and manned by a large crew. The Governor took immediate steps to warn the people of Elizabeth City, Norfolk, Prin- cess Anne, Accomac, and Northampton Counties of the presence of these dangerous outlaws. The commander of the militia in each of the counties named was instructed to appoint persons to keep watch along the shore, each one having a certain distance to patrol. x\s soon as there was reason to suspect the presence of pirates, information was to be given to the nearest commissioned officer, who in turn was at once to communicate with the commander of his district. 2 As late as 1692, Fitzhugh, considering the

above fort on Pagan Creek ; Warwick River, above Sandy Point ; York, as high as Colonel Bacon's ; in Rappahannock, above fort in Corratoman River ; in Potomac, in Wicocomico, and Matchatax, as high as they can ; Eastern Shore, at Appomattox ; rivers of Mobjack as high as the ships can go." Becords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1679-169-4, p. 472.

1 Palmer's Calendar of Virginia State Papers, vol. I, p. 23, note.

2 Becords of Loioer Norfolk County, original vol. 1695-1703, f. .p. 165. In Becords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1694-1703, p. 306, will be found a proclamation of Governor Andros, instructing the naval officers of Virginia "to take all possible care to apprehend Capt. Kidd, who had recently seized a ship in the West Indies." In 1685, John Sherry of York was arrested and brought before court as having given comfort to pirates.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 347

perils to which a merchantman was exposed both on the inward and outward voyage, declared that a person en- gaged in the Virginian trade might be worth one thousand pounds sterling to-day and to-morrow lose the last groat. ^ The policies ordinarily secured upon a cargo by its owner did not extend to the acts of public enemies. The insur- ance was five guineas upon every one hundred guineas' worth of goods. 2

In the instances in which the English merchant owned the ship transporting his commodities to the Colony, the most serious charge which he had to meet was the wages of his captain and seamen, an item of importance on account of the length of the voyage, since the vessel not infrequently took a circuitous route, touching first at the Canaries, then at Barbadoes, and finally reaching an an- chorage in the waters of one of the Virginian rivers.^ The remuneration of the shipmaster was probably about nine pounds sterling a month ; ^ that of a sailor in 1008 was thirty shillings for the same length of time.^ There is an instance recorded in Lower Norfolk in 1680 in which a common mariner was paid only eight shillings. Fifteen years later, there was a second instance in the same county,

See Records of York County, vol. 1G84-1687, p. 51, Ya. State Library. In 1688, Edward Davis, Lionel Delawater, and John Hinson were seized at the mouth of the James, having a considerable amount of plate in their pos- session. They were arrested as pirates. Randolph MSS., vol. Ill, p. 442.

1 Letters of William Fitshugh, July 21, 1692. In 1665, five hundred and eighty hogsheads of tobacco belonging to Thomas Sands were cap- tured by the Dutch. See Colonial Entry Book, No. 83, pp. 115-117 ; Sainsbury Abstracts for 1686, p. 10, Va. State Library.

2 Records of York County, vol. 1690-1694, p. 360, Va. State Library.

3 Sainsbury's Calendar of State Papers, Colonial, vol. 1574-1660, p. 409. * Records of Middlesex County, original vol. 1080-1694, orders Jan. 2,

1692-93.

^ Records of Lancaster County, original vol. 1666-1680, orders July 8, 1668.

348 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

in which a seaman received by the month two pounds and four shillings ; a chief mate, four pounds j a ship physician and carpenter, three pounds and ten shillings respectively. In 1695, a suit was brought in Lower Norfolk for work performed on the vessel of Captain Phillips during the course of twenty-five days and twenty-four nights, at the rate of eighteen pence for each twelve hours. ^

If the merchant was not the owner of a vessel, his principal expense in transporting his goods to the Colony was the charge for freight. The rates did not vary materially in any part of the seventeenth century. Dur- ing the administration of the Company, the cost was three pounds sterling a ton;^ in one case recorded, of that period, a rate of two pounds sterling was offered and accepted.^ In 1649, the freight cliarge upon each ton was three pounds, and at this figure it remained.*

The seamen were far from being a class of men on whom reliance could be placed. As soon as Virginia acquired a very considerable population, there was a strong disposition on the part of many of the persons thus em- ployed to desert their vessels upon their arrival in the Colony, and by 1690, the evil had grown to such propor- tions that a special proclamation was issued by Governor Nicholson with a view to suppressing it. In order to increase the vigilance of shipmasters, a bond with a pen- alty of one thousand pounds sterling was required of them that they would return all the sailors to England whom they had brought into Virginia. They were commanded to act with the utmost fairness to their seamen, who, in

1 Becords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1675-1686, f. p. 104; original vol. 1695-1703, orders Jan. 16, 1695.

2 Abstracts of Proceedings of the Virginia Company of London, vol. I, p. 172.

3 Ihid., p. 28.

* Bullock's Virginia, p. 50.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 349

case tlie contracts witli them as to food and other neces- saries were not faithfully performed, had the right to enter complaint with the nearest justice of the peace. Particular orders were published that no one should entertain a fugitive mariner, and that all ferrymen should refuse to set him over their ferries unless he could present a note from his captain showing that he had received per- mission to leave his ship. Any person could arrest him without warrant.!

Every vessel arriving in the Colony was compelled to show a cocquet upon pain of confiscation. It had also to pay certain duties imposed by law. What was known as the castle duty was established in February, 1631-32, at which time a fort at Point Comfort was in the course of erection.2 This tax consisted of one barrel of powder and ten iron shot.^ The fort was completed in the autumn of 1632, and the provision as to the amount of powder and shot to be delivered by every ship on its arrival was ex- pressly renewed. In 1632, each vessel was made subject to the payment of one-quarter of a pound of powder and a proportionate quantity of shot for every ton represented in its bulk.* Three years after this enactment, the num- ber of forts in Virginia had increased to five. The duty was now placed at fifty pounds of powder for every vessel

1 British State Papers, Colonial; 3IcDonald Papers, vol. VII, pp. 261, 262, Va. State Library.

2 In addition to the castle duty, even the ships belonging to Virginians had to pay 2s. Gd. for entry, 2s. Qd. for license to trades, and 2s. Gd. for clearing. Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 387. The cocquet rates were a halfpenny per hhd. for all bills of lading not containing above 20 hhd. ; twelve pence for every cocquet if exceeding that number. Ibid., p. 387.

3 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 176 ; Letter of Governor Harris to Dorchester, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. X, No. 5 : McDonald Papers, vol. II, p. 40, Va. State Library.

* Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 218 ; British State Papers, Colonial, vol. X, No. 5 ; Sainsbury Abstracts for 1638, p. 50, Va. State Library.

350 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

of two hundred tons and an amount in proportion for every ship of greater or smaller burden ; a proportionate quantity of shot, match, and other material used in defence was also to be delivered. ^ The merchants of all classes complained of these charges as well as of the tax imposed for administering the oath of allegiance to each passenger who arrived in the Colony and for registering each hogs- head sent out.2 In 1643, the law of 1633 was reenacted.^ The quantity of powder to be paid in settlement of the castle duty was in 1645 increased from one-quarter of a pound to one-half for every ton in the burden of the ship, the quantity of shot or lead being fixed at three pounds. As a means of ensuring a full collection of these articles, officers were appointed upon every river of importance in the inhab- ited parts of Virginia, who were to receive the duties in kind or in valuable commodities, and in case of collusion between the master of a vessel and the person in charge of a port, the recognizance of the latter was to be forfeited.* The change in the material in which the castle duties were to be paid, tobacco or whatever product formed the freight of the ship being substituted for powder and shot, and delivered not when the vessel arrived but when she departed, is to be ascribed to the fact that a few years before, these duties had, under an Act of the General Assembly, been appropriated to the Governor instead of going as before to the captains of the forts. ^ This change did not continue for many years. In the session

1 Governor and Council of Virginia to Pri^'y Council, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. X, No. 5 ; McDonald Papers, vol. II, p. 233, Va. State Library.

- Report of Sub-Committee for Foreign Plantations, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. IX, No. 122 ; Sainshury Abstracts for 1638, p. 29, Va. State Library.

3 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 247.

* Rid., pp. 301, 53L '" Ibid., p. 423.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 351

of 1661-62, the castle duties were again made pa3-al)le in powder and shot at the rate of half a pound of powder and three pounds of leaden shot for every ton represented in the burden of each ship arriving. It was permitted, however, to a master of a vessel to settle these duties in money sterling or in bills of exchange.^ Many owners of ships engaged in the trade with Virginia complained in the following year that it was a great hardship to require them to pay twelve pence as a castle duty upon every ton of merchandise they imported, and they petitioned that instead they should be allowed to deliver half a pound of powder and three pounds of lead towards the defence of the plantations. 2 This request apparently failed to re- ceive a favorable response. In 1680, the amount which it was optional for the shipowners to substitute for pow- der and shot was fixed at one shilling and three pence a ton. 2 A tonnage tax of fifteen pence was imposed upon every vessel arriving in the Colony towards the end of the century.* A present of liquor or provisions to the Governor by the shipmaster on anchoring, which in the beginning was a mere act of courtesy,^ came in time to be a recognized charge, amounting to twenty shillings on each vessel above one hundred tons and thirty shillings if under. Culpeper remitted the gift in consideration of the payment of its value in tobacco or coin.^

1 Hening's Stattitcs, vol. II, pp. 177, 178.

2 British State Papers, CuloJiial Papers, August, 1GG2 ; Sainsbimj Abstracts for 1062, p. 26, Va. State Library.

* Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 466.

4 Palmer's Calendar of Virginia State Papers, vol. I, p. 58. See Hening's Statutes, vol. Ill, p. 345.

^ In 1667, Berkeley called the attention of Colonel Scarborough to the fact that the ships arriving on the Eastern Shore had not paid "their yearly presentation of wine," pretending that they had none. Records of Accomac County, original vol. 1664-1670, p. 63. Colonel Scarborough was the collector for the district. « Beverley's History of Virrjinia, p. 73.

352 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

A complaint was raised in 1660 by the masters of mer- chantmen, that on arriving at the mouth of the James, they found no one to steer their vessels up that stream, and no beacons to mark the sites of shoals in its waters. With a view to removing the ground of this complaint. Captain William Oewin was appointed the chief pilot in James River, and to encourage him in the performance of the duty thus imposed on him, he was allowed the privi- lege of demanding five pounds sterling from the master of every vessel above eighty tons who engaged his services, and forty shillings from the captains who declined the offer. Every ship dropping anchor in the Roads was required to pay Captain Oewin a fee of thirty shillings. This was not so much of a gratuity as it appeared, since he was expected to maintain beacons at every point between Willoughby Shoals and Jamestown where navigation was dangerous. If these beacons were removed or destroyed, it was his duty to replace them before the expiration of fifteen days.i The successor of Captain Oewin was Captain Chichester, who was followed by his son. The position was filled by the latter during the time of the second administration of Sir William Berkeley, and during the whole of the official terms of Culpeper and Howard. In a petition presented to Governor Nicholson in 1691, he referred to himself as for a period of many years the only pilot in James River who was serving under commission from the colonial authorities. The duties of his office occupied his whole time and was his only means of liveli- hood. In order that there might be competent men at hand to take his place when he died or became disabled by accident or old age, he declared himself ready to in- struct apprentices in the art of his calling and to inform

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 35, The spelling of the name is fol- lowed as given in Hening,

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 353

them as to all dangerous points in the waters in which he served as pilot. ^

At an early period in the history of the Colony, strict laws were ])assed prohibiting the master or owner of a ship from breaking bulk before his vessel came to anchor off Jamestown Island. The object of these laws in the beginning was to put a stop to forestalling and engross- ing commodities, as an evil especially injurious to Vir- ginia because its population was so far removed from the source of manufactured supplies. In later times, the desire to promote the growth of Jamestown by making it the only port of entry was an important motive in the passage of the same class of Acts ; and after the imposi- tion of a duty on all liquors brought into the Colony, the determination to secure the full amount of the public funds arising from this tax, which could be done only by requiring all vessels arriving to hold their cargoes un- broken until the port of entry had been reached, was an additional reason for these enactments. As early as 1617, Governor Argoll instructed the masters of all ships drop- ping anchor at Kecoughtan to refuse permission to their sailors to go on land or to the colonists to come on board, as the mariners, when allowed to have personal inter- course with the people, obtained an opportunit}- of dis- posing of the goods consigned to persons in Virginia who happened to have died before the arrival of the ship.^ It was provided in 1623, by an Act of Assembly, that as soon as a vessel reached anchorage at Point Comfort, an olhcer should go on board and read a proclamation directing that without the express permission of the Governor and

1 Palmer's Calendar of Virginia State Papers, vol. I, p. 32. Tliere were in 1702 a number of autluirized pilot.s in the Colony. See List of Public Officers for that year, Virginia Magazine of Ilistory and Biogra- phy, vol. I, p. ."GO.

- Randolph MSS., vol. III. pp. 140, 144.

354 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

Council, no part of the cargo was to be sold previous to tlie arrival of the ship at Jamestown, and this proclama- tion was ordered to be nailed to the mast as a means of giving it the fullest publicity.^ The General Court, in 1626, adopted the rule that no one among the colonists should be allowed to enter a vessel on its way to that place without special license from the authorities. This was in strict conformity with the instructions received by Yeardley in the course of this year on his appointment to office. 2 That the provision was enforced is shown by the fact that in 1627, Michael Wilcox, a planter, was fined because he had gone on board of the Charlie while it was lying at anchor in James River and purchased twelve pounds of sugar. 3 So firmly resolved was the local gov- ernment that no permission should be granted to ship- masters and owners to break the bulk of their cargoes, whether to sell in large quantities to a forestaller who might propose to take advantage of the necessities of the people, or to a person like Wilcox, who was only seeking to supply his private wants, that when the Marmaduke in 1626 ran aground below Mulberry Island, orders were given that no goods should be removed from her with a view to lightening the vessel for the purpose of floating her, unless the owners of these goods gave assurance that the merchandise, when removed, should be brought to Jamestown, without any effort being made in the interval to dispose of it by secret bargains and indirect sales.* In 1632, the Act requiring that a proclamation should

1 Lawes and Orders, Feb. 16, 1623, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. Ill, No. 9 ; 3IcDonald Papers, vol. I, p. 08, Va. State Library.

"^ Bandolph M8S., vol. Ill, p. 199; British State Papers, Colonial Entry Book, vol. LXXIX, p. 257 ; Sainshury Abstracts for 1626, p. 137, Va. State Library.

3 General Court Orders, April 3, 1627, Bobinson Transcripts, p. 63.

* Ibid., Dec. 18, 1626, p. 57.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 355

be nailed to the mast of every ship arriving at Point Comfort in prohibition of all breaking of bulk before Jamestown was reached, was passed a second time, the penalty imposed for its violation being the forfeiture of the goods and the imprisonment of the captain for a period of four weeks. ^ This severity appears to have had no deterring effect upon the shipmasters and owners; they continued to make sales and contracts for the future disposition of merchandise, as their vessels pursued their way iTp the river. So notorious did this custom become that it was found necessary to assign an officer of the law to each ship arriving at the Point, whose duty it was to accompany the vessel placed under his supervision to Jamestown. 2 Tlie instructions of Wyatt, when he was appointed to the governorship in 1638-39, and of Berkeley in 1641, when he was named for the same office, expressly directed them to prohibit the breaking of bulk before an- chor was cast at that port. Berkeley was commanded to see that warehouses were erected there for the reception of goods upon their removal from the ships. ^

In spite of these repeated provisions, there is reason to think that planters found their way on board of vessels in the river, for the purpose of making purchases, without any serious obstructions. In the fight which took place near Blunt Point between a Bristol frigate and two ships from London, the one being in sympathy with the cause of the King, the others with that of Parliament, the only person killed was a citizen of the Colony who had gone on board to buy merchandise.^ It was impossible to enforce a law which produced such serious inconvenience.

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 101. 2 j^,-^.^ p. 215.

3 Instructions to Berkeley, 1041, British State Papers, Colonial Pa- pers; McDonald Papers, vol. I, p. .384, Va. State Library. * Devries' Voyages from Holland to America, p. 180.

356 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

Wishing to conform to the instructions from England, and at the same time recognizing their impracticability, the Assembly in 1661 passed an Act compelling all ves- sels after reaching Virginia to make entry at Jamestown, but granting their masters and owners the right to obtain a license to engage in trade in any part of the Colon3\i

Previous to the appointment of collectors, the master of a ship which had just dropped anchor at Jamestown was expected to deliver to the authorities an invoice of the goods in his vessel when he reached Point Comfort. ^ At one time he was required to certify his arrival to the Governor.^ When the rule compelling every ship dis- charging its cargo in Virginia to make entry at James- town fell into abeyance, it became the duty of the master to report his arrival to the officer in the waters of whose jurisdiction his vessel happened to stop, and his failure to do so exposed him to its seizure.^ Much complaint arose at one time that the captains who were under the necessity of going to the home of this officer in order to make a legal entry, after incurring great inconvenience and seri- ous expense in the journey, very frequently failed to find him.^ This evil does not appear to have been corrected as late as 1689, the performance of the duties of the col- lectors being left to deputies.^ In the session of 1692-93, it was provided by an Act of Assembly, that the officers who were empowered to enter all ships arriving in the Colony should either themselves or in the persons of their substitutes, reside in the places which had been named as

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 135.

2 lUd., vol. I, pp. 150, 151. 3 /jiVL, p. 392.

* Secords of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1684-1699, p. 67, Va. State Library.

5 Reply of Burgesses to Howard, Oct. 9, 1685, British State Papers, Colonial ; McDonald State Papers, vol. VII, p. 394, Va. State Library.

6 Hartwell, Chilton, and Blair's Present State of Virginia, 1697, p. 59.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 357

legal ports. 1 The fee for entering a vessel in one of these ports was the same as that for clearing, namely, fifteen shillings, if the vessel was twenty tons or less in burden, and thirty if it exceeded that number ; this fee included the charge not only for making entry, but also for issuing a license to trade, and for taking the bonds required of all the shipmasters at this time.^

In 1671, Sir William Berkeley affirmed, in response to an inquiry made by the Commissioners for Foreign Plan- tations, that at this time no duty was imposed upon any article imported into the Colony. ^ This had not always been the case. Ten years previously, in consequence of the numerous diseases which, it was supposed, were pro- duced by the free use of liquors among the planters, a tax of six pence had been laid upon every gallon of rum brought into Virginia by a vessel not owned entirely by its citizens, and the same provision was adopted with reference to pavele sugar.* This duty was not to become operative until 1663, and in the following year it was abolished on the ground that it raised a serious obstruc- tion in the way of the prosperity of the general trade of the Colony.^ It was, however, at a later date reimposed on rum, and was subsequently extended to wine, brandy, and other spirits. At first the amount was three pence a gallon, but this was increased in 1691 by a penny in the case of all liquors imported unless they came directly from England. No spirits were to be transferred from the ship to the shore until the duty had been paid, generally in the form of either money sterling or bills of exchange, to the officers appointed to receive it.*^

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. Ill, p. 111. 2 7/^,^., vol. II, p. 443, 444.

3 Ibid., p. 516. * Ibid., p. 128. 5 Jl,l^l^ p. 212.

« Ibid., vol. Ill, p. 88 ; Hartwell, Chilton, and Blair's Present State of Virginia, 1697, p. 59. Sp( cial exemptions were allowed to Virginian importers who owned their ships.

358 ECONOMIC HISTOEY OF VIRGINIA

After the revocation of the charter, the master or fac- tor in charge of a cargo, on reaching Jamestown, was required to wait until ten days had passed before he shoukl attempt to dispose of the goods in his care, the object of this provision being that the colonists should have full opportunity to learn of the arrival of the vessel and time to make a journey to Jamestown to purchase such parts of its contents as they wanted. ^ By the Act of 1633, all the commodities landed at that place to be bartered for tobacco had to pass through the hands of the storekeeper who had charge of the general warehouse at that point, a certain percentage being granted him in the exchange. 2

The most careful regulations were adopted to prevent the forestallment and engrossment of merchandise after it had been landed and offered for sale. This was one reason, as has been shown, for the passage of the series of Acts requiring all ships that arrived in the Colony to keep their cargoes intact until Jamestown had been reached. One of the first measures of the Company after the election of Southampton to the treasurership was to instruct the authorities in Virginia to exercise unceasing vigilance in suppressing every attempt to buy up the great bulk of commodities with a view to raising prices to an exorbitant extent by anticipating the market.^ In a dispatch to the Governor and Council, forwarded in the Warwick in 1621, the effort to monopolize the principal articles imported during the previous year, as a part of the supplies of the Magazine, was condemned with great severity on the ground that it not only restricted the profits of the joint stock by means of which these supplies

1 General Court Orders, Oct. 13, 1626, BoUnson Transcripts, p. 55.

2 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 221.

3 Works of Capt. John Smith, p. 6G1.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 359

had been purchased, but also compelled the people to pay at high rates for goods which could have been bought at low rates if obtained directly from the Magazine itself. ^ Replying to these communications, the Governor and Council after reprobating the engrossing and forestalling of merchandise as wrong in themselves, firmly denied that they had been practised in Virginia. ^ When Wyatt was appointed to administer the affairs of the Colony, he came over with special instructions to put a summary stop to these forms of extortion, if they should be found to exist, and if not, to adopt measures which would prevent their arising. The General Court passed an order in 1626, forbidding any person who had purchased goods in Virginia to dispose of them at prices higher than he had paid for them, under a penalty of five hundred pounds of tobacco ; and in 1629, a second order of the same court fixed the penalty at an amount of that commodity representing three times the value of the articles sold.^ In 1630, it was enacted that no one should be allowed to buy imported merchandise, whether on l)oard ship or ashore, unless he intended to apply it to his own use, and if he found that he had pur- chased a greater quantity than he really needed, he should have the right to dispose of his surplus only at the rates at which he had acquired it. Goods were to be exchanged only on the basis of six pence for every pound of tobacco.^ In 1622, a forestaller was legally defined as a man who liad obtained, under the terms of a contract, actual possession of merchandise or right to its possession before it reached

1 Company's Letter, dated September, 1G21, Neill's Virginia Company of London, p. 245.

^ Ibid., p. 309. They reprobated " ingrossing as horrible Treasone against God himself e."

3 General Court Orders, Oct. lo, 102G ; General Assembly, Oct. IG, 1029, Robinson Transcripts, pp. 91, 90.

* Hening's Statutes, vol. I, pp. 150, 102.

360 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

Jamestown, whether introduced by land or by water. There were also included in the same category, all who used any subterfuge whatever for the purpose of enhanc- ing the price of goods when offered for sale in the market or who prevented their transportation to market at all.^ In 1633, the special articles in which it was thought advis- able that there should be no f orestallment by purchase from the importing merchant, were shoes, Irish stockings, and coarse woollen and coarse linen stuff designed to be con- verted into shirts and sheets for the use of servants.^ The regulation prohibiting the acquisition of these articles for the purpose of reselling them, was held not to apply to persons who bought for the benefit of planters who re- sided in remote places ; to such persons was granted the right to increase the amount of the purchase money by a margin of gain that would be sufficient to compensate for the risk and inconvenience attending the transporta- tion of the goods ; but they were to secure no merchandise except Avhat had been specifically ordered by the planter.^ In the course of the same year, it was provided by law that in buying such merchandise, tobacco should be rated at nine pence a poimd, an advance of three pence over the price laid down three years previously."^ In 1644, all the Acts for the suppression of engrossing were expressly repealed and the privileges of an absolute free trade in their business dealings with each other were allowed to all the people of the Colony.^

In the session of 1654-55, an Act was passed which established markets at certain points in Virginia;^ every shipmaster was required to transport his cargo to some one of these markets under the penalty of being consid-

1 Ilening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 194. * Ibid., p. 210.

■^ Ibid., p. 217. ^ Ibid., p. 296.

3 Ibid. « Ibid., p. 413.

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ered a forestaller according to the provisions of the laws of England. A few years later, the statute granting free trade to the colonists among themselves was reenacted, apparently indicating that the regulations for the suppres- sion of engrossing and forestalling had again come into operation although at one time repealed. ^ In the instruc- tions for the guidance of Culpeper when he became Gov- ernor, he was ordered to put an end to every form of these evils practised in Virginia, but he denied very emphatically that they had any existence in his jurisdiction; ^ notwith- standing this, the same command was repeated in the instructions given a few years later to Howard on his assuming the reins of administration. In the statement of grievances presented by the authorities of Northampton to the three commissioners from England who arrived after the collapse of the insurrection of 1676, it was declared that in this county, the engrossing of merchan- dise was carried on to such an extent as to prejudice the welfare of the community at large ; an earnest petition was in consequence entered that no person should be suffered to purchase after the arrival of a ship a larger quantity of goods than he could pay for out of the pro- ceeds of his annual crop.^

The importance in public estimation of the regulations as to forestalling, which involved engrossing, was shown as long as these regulations remained in the statute book by the penalties prescribed for their violation. For the first offence, the punishment was imprisonment during two months without bail; for the second offence, six

1 Ileniiig's Statutes, vol. II, p. 124. The reenactment of the repeal may have been simply a means of making still more public the abolition of all restrictions upon internal trade.

2 Instructions to Culpeper, 1681-1682. Reply to § 56, British State Papers, Colonial; McDonald Papers, vol. VI, p. 153, Va. State Library.

3 Winder Papers, vol. II, p. 173, Va. State Library.

362 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

months; for the third offence, exposure in tlie pillory, forfeiture of goods and imprisonment for such a length of time as the Governor should decide to be proper. ^ The laws against forestalling between 1630 and 1640 were but a reflection of the same class of enactments in operation in England. As early as the session of 1631-32, the House of Burgesses ordered that the English statutes bearing on this point should be proclaimed and executed in Virginia.^ There was, however, far greater need of such laws there than in the mother country, the A^ery fountain of the manufactured supplies which were so essential to the welfare of the population of the Colony. The volume of goods imported by the English merchants could rarely in any one year have been much in excess of the require- ments of the planters. A successful attempt to advance the rates of these goods by obtaining a partial monopoly in them, was an injury to the general community even in the years in which tobacco commanded the most remuner- ative prices. Whenever the crop was cut short, or the rates at which the planters were compelled to sell were too low to ensure a profit, the hardships resulting from engrossing and forestalling under the most favorable cir- cumstances were greatly increased.

It was not, however, to the interest of the merchant that the laws against engrossing and forestalling should be strictly enforced. His object was to sell the goods which he had on board of his ship or which he had trans- ferred to land under care of himself or factor, to the first person who offered tobacco of fine qualit}^ for them, and to him it was a matter of indifference at what prices the buyer subsequently disposed of them among the inhabi- tants of the Colony. The need of the people for merchan- dise might have been great enough to constrain them to

1 Heuiug's Statutes, vol. I, p. 194. - Hid., p. 172.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 3(|3

pass a law prohibiting the exportation from Virginia of articles once imported, in case the exporter and importer were different persons, — such a law was actually passed,^ — -and yet it would have been still to the advantage of the trader bringing in a cargo of commodities to sell them to the first person who was speculating upon the wants of the community. To be required to discriminate as to the individual purchaser was to impose upon the newly arrived merchant a burden of trouble and annoyance which was certain to render the law unpopular with him- self and all the members of the class to which he belonged. What he desired was a free market, and the right to break the bulk of his cargo whenever a buyer appeared. All the restrictions upon the market and the buyer alike were finally abolished, not only because the quantity of goods imported increased enormously with the progress of the century, but also in consequence of the powerful influence exercised by the English merchants at home. Such an influence these men never failed to bring to bear when it was the question of removing some obstacle that dimin- ished their profits by increasing their expenses, or which exposed them, in exchanging their commodities for tobacco, to grave inconvenience. When it was sought to establish a number of ports in Virginia by compelling traders to adopt certain places as their exclusive markets in the Colony, upon the penalty of punishment as forestallers if they disregarded the law to that effect, the undertaking resulted in failure, because it Avas opposed to the interests of this class. In claiming the right to land their cargoes at any point Avhere purchasers offered, its members were simply adapting themselves to local conditions not to be disregarded without serious damage to all. The gain derived from a venture was moderate, even when they

1 Ilening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 519.

3§4 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

were at liberty to follow the course that was suggested by the topography of the country and the system of plan- tations. Restrictive laws merely added to the drawbacks inherent in the physical character of Virginia. Owing to tlie dispersion of the plantations along the rivers, mer- chants were already forced to seek their markets at private landings, often several hundred miles apart, by the water highway.

The person in Virginia to whom goods from England were consigned Avas not infrequently a merchant who owned a share in them, and who, therefore, in selling, acted rather as a partner than as a factor ; the profits of a venture were often for this reason divided among several traders, only one of whom had either visited or resided in the Colony. As a rule, however, the factor, who, by the terms of the Navigation Act, must be a native or a naturalized subject of England, had no pecuniary interest in the cargo received by him beyond the com- mission on the sales. As early as 1639, this commission amounted to ten pounds of tobacco in the hundred. ^ In the latter part of the seventeenth century, the agent was entitled to ten per cent of that commodity passing through his hands, and five per cent of the goods. He was sometimes paid an annual salary .2 Whether a native of Virginia or England, he derived his authority to act from a power of attorney drawn by the English mer- chant, acknowledged before an English notary and then forwarded to the Colony to be recorded in the county in which the factor was instructed to transact business.

1 Report of Commissioners, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. X, No. 15, 1, II, III ; Sainshiiry Abstracts for 1639, p. 71, Va. State Library.

2 Petition of John Jefferies and Thomas Colclough, British State Pa- pers, Colonial Papers, August, 1669; Sainsbiiry Abstracts for 1669, p. 145, Va. State Library.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 365

In order to avoid the complications certain to arise in case the hitter died without any one having the legal right to represent the interests of his principal, a second person was authorized on the same occasion to take the place of the original agent in this emergency.^ A failure to provide against such a contingency was frequently the cause of serious loss. In 1638, John Woodcock, an English merchant who traded with the planters, was compelled by the death of his factor in Virginia and his consequent inability to collect debts from the per- sons into whose hands his goods had been dispersed, to make application to the Privy Council for assistance in his predicament ; to this application, a ready response was given, and instructions were sent to the Governor and Council to aid Woodcock in securing what was due him.^ A second instance may be given. In 1672, one of the factors of George Lee, an English merchant, died in Vir- ginia indebted to his principal in a balance of seven hun- dred pounds sterling. His property passed into the hands of his mother, who appointed an attorney to take charge of it. The latter proceeded immediately to convert the whole estate into tobacco, which he was about to ship to his own consignee in England, when the General Court interposed with an order requiring him to transfer the entire quantity to a third person in the mother country, until the justice of the claim of Lee on the property of his deceased agent had been decided. To facilitate this, all the books of the factor containing his accounts with his principal were directed to be sent to England.^

1 For an example, see Becords nf Henrico County, vol. 1G88-1697, p. 645, Va. State Library.

2 Order of Privy Council, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. IX, No. 123 ; Sainsbiiry Abstracts for 16.38, p. 31, Va. State Library.

8 Becords of General Court, pp. 131, 132.

366 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

It not infrequently happened in the case of the death of a factor and the remarriage of his widow, if no one Avas appointed to act as his successor under a power of attorney from the owner of the goods, that the goods fell into the hands of the second husband, who very often showed no scruple in dealing with them as his j^rivate property. Such a case was that of Thomas Kingston, the agent of Thomas Cowell, who owned a plantation in the Colony about the year 1636. Kingston having died and his relict having become the wife of Thomas Loving, the latter at once appropriated the credits and merchandise of Cowell. Upon the petition of Cowell, Loving was required by the Governor and Council to take an inven- tory of the former's property in his possession, and to give bond in a large sum to hold it without further pur- loining it.i

Many of the factors proved themselves to be untrust- worthy, and numerous suits arose in consequence of their defalcations. There were also many instances of contro- versies between the English traders and their agents, which Avere settled by boards composed of merchants residing in the Colony. The arbitrators appointed in the case of Lawrence Evans in 1638 were among the wealthiest and most prominent men interested in busi- ness in Virginia, including John Chew, Thomas Stegg, George Ludlow, and Thomas Burbage.^ It was one of the conspicuous features of commercial intercourse with the Colony that an important portion of the dealings of

1 Letter from Governor and Council to Privy Council, British State Papers, Colonial; IIcDonald Papers, vol. II, May 12, 1639, Va. State Library. For a second instance, see Records of General Court, p. 59.

2 British State Papers, Colonial, vol. X, Nos. 15, I, II, III ; Sainshury Abstracts for 1638, p. 71, Va. State Library, Boards of Arbitration were often appointed by the General Court. An instance is given in Becords of General Court, p. 61.

MANUFACTUKED SUPPLIES 367

the persons engaged in it, whether living in Virginia or England, Avas transacted on a basis of credit, and many of the sales in consequence resulted in debts Avhich it was found impossible to collect. This was a danger to which the trader was especially liable, not only in the early part of the seventeenth century when the popula- tion was still comparatively small, and when, as has been seen, there was a strong disposition among so many to move from one locality to another in search of virgin lands, thus enabling them to a large extent to evade their obligations, but also in the latter part of the cen- tury, when the older communities had become firmly established and their inhabitants as a mass fixed to the soil, with property that could be levied on without ob- struction. A number of the planters were still disposed to shirk their debts and could only be trusted at a risk of loss. There were many instances of individuals among them who, having become deeply involved for advances of supplies, were induced to throw off the weight of their obligations by taking refuge in Maryland and so escaping the process of their creditors.^ It was not improbably in consequence of this disposition to abscond on the part of debtors among the colonists, that the regulation was adopted that all persons residing in Virginia who decided to go on a journey or voyage beyond the boundaries of the Colony were required to put their intention on public record sometime beforehand, in order that it might be- come a matter of common notoriety. ^

1 Letters of William Fitzhugh, Feb. 18, 1687.

- See Becords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1673-1685, f . pp. 14, 21, 9.3. Fourteen persons advertise in these particular references their intention to depart for England. In 1675, the General Court imposed a fine of 1000 lbs. of tobacco on a shipmaster who had carried out of the country a person who was unable to show a pass. Becords of General Court, p. 216.

368 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

Strong influences were at work in the Colony encourag- ing the planter on the one hand to obtain credit from his merchant, whether residing in Virginia or acting in the per- son of his factor, and disposing the merchant on the other to extend it. Of all the staj^le crops, with the exception of cotton, tobacco is attended in its culture by the most numerous elements of speculation on account of the rapid fluctuations in its price. It may be depressed in the mar- ket during one year, and twelve months later be selling at very high rates. This was true of tobacco in the seven- teenth century, as it is of the same commodity in the nineteenth. The Virginian planter in the seventeenth century, however much discouraged as to the results of the operations of one season, could indulge the hope that the following season would not only restore what he had lost on the crop of the present year, but add to the amount the margin of a very handsome profit. This expectation, which had its justification in actual experience, led him to make purchases on credit of goods from the importing mer- chants which the tobacco of the succeeding year did not always enable him to cover, and a series of unprosperous years not infrequently involved him in a slough of debts from which it Avas difficult, and, in many cases, impossible, to extricate himself. The merchant doubtless took a clearer view of the situation. It was natural that he should not be as sanguine as to the prices of future crops as the planter, and he sought to discount a possible period of depression twelve months later by selling not only at lucrative rates, but also in figures representing money sterling.

For the special encouragement of traders, an Act was passed in 1633 requiring that all contracts and bargains should be made and all accounts kept in money sterling, and not in tobacco, according to the prevailing custom at

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 309

that time ; ^ this remov^ed from the consideration received by the merchant in his sales that element of fluctuation which marked all valuation in the latter commodity from year to year. A large proportion of these sales were on credit in anticipation of the next year's crop. In the course of this interval, the price of the leaf might sink to a point which would not only leave him without a margin of gain, but even expose him to heavy loss. If his contract had been drawn in figures representing a fixed amount in money sterling, his profit would be independent of an advance or decline in the value of tobacco, and the same would be true if his running accounts were kept in the same form. As a means of ensuring ample security for the payment of debts due them for advancement of goods, many of the merchants required a purchaser to give a bill to be placed on record in the books of the county court where the trans- action occurred ; in this document, he acknowledged the amount which he owed, accompanying the admission with a statement that the obligation was to be met in the suc- ceeding autumn, when the tobacco crop had been got in. In case what was due was not settled, the creditor in the bill, that is to say, the merchant, could take possession of the landed property conveyed to him subject to the pay- ment of the debt. If the crop in the autumn was suffi- cient to cover what was owed by the purchaser of the goods, he could claim a release in full.^

Another course followed by a merchant who had dis- posed of goods on credit was to insist that the purchaser should consent to a judgment in court in the amount of tobacco represented by his obligation, against all the projDerty in his possession, and this judgment was enforced according to the provisions of a deed directing execution

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 21fi.

2 Records of York County, vol. 1638- 1G48, pp. 63, •'^42, Va. State Library.

VOL, II. 2 B

370 ECONOMrc history of vieginia

to issue immediately upon the failure to pay at the ap- pointed, time.^ In order to collect the debts which the planters in the Colony owed them, whether secured by a conditional deed or not, it seems to have been the custom of the English traders to send to Virginia agents who had, under powers of attorney carefully placed on record, the authority to represent their principals in suits if it was found necessary to have recourse to law to recover what was due. These men, like the ordinary factor who accom- panied a cargo of goods, represented very frequently more than one trader. Merchants engaged in widely different branches of business seemed to have thus employed the same person. ^ The sea-captain especially was very often employed in this capacity, probably on account of the greater cheapness of his services, as the cost of the passage was thus saved. The agent was sometimes instructed to collect all the debts due his principal in Virginia, without regard to counties. In some instances, his juris- diction was confined to one county. Very frequently, he was authorized to collect from a single person, this person being the regular factor of the principal in the Colony.

By the provisions of a law passed at the session of 1657-58, the creditor was deprived of all right to require the settlement of a debt on demand, if made payable in tobacco, except in the interval between October 10th and

1 Records of York County, vol. 1638-1648, p. 296, Va. State Library. See also Becords of General Court, p. 171. In December, 1647, Robert Vaulx, merchant, purchased from Ralph Wormeley, forty hogsheads of tobacco for £200, and conveyed a large estate to secure the payment, the property, however, to go back to him on condition that he delivered the £200 on the Royal Exchange, London, within forty days after the arrival of the Desire at that poi-t, or upon tlie first day of the following May, whicliever should come about first. Becords of York County, vol. 16.38- 1G48, p. 302, Va. State Library.

■•^ Becords of York County, vol. 1664-1672, pp. 308, 309.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 371

January Slst.^ If he was a resident of the Colony, he coukl bring no suit upon accounts which had been running three years ; if a non-resident, on none which had been running five.^ A strong disposition was shown at an early date to protect the debtor in cases in which he was unable to settle in kind. If he had promised to do so in grain, tobacco, and other agricultural products, and his crops failed or were destroyed, it was in 1644-45 provided that he should give an inventory of his estate to the creditor, and the Commissioners of Court should decide what part should be delivered in payment of his obligations.^ It was subsequently ordered that the valuation of the property of all persons who were imprisoned for debt and who were un- able to settle in kind, should be made by two persons, one selected by the creditor and the other by the debtor, and whatever satisfaction they awarded should be final, and in case of a disagreement between the appraisers, the two next adjoining Commissioners should serve in their place.* In 1663, it was provided that the debtor when laid under execution should first swear that he was unable to pay either in tobacco or money sterling ; that he should then render an estate thrice the value of his debt ; and that if he had no movable property, he should give an inventory of whatever he possessed to the creditor, who was to be at liberty to choose according to his preference. What- ever he selected was to be appraised by four men, two having been named for that purpose by each party. If the whole estate was not sufficient to discharge the obli- gation, the debtor remained in prison ; ^ from which it will be seen that the English law as to incarceration for

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 489. The creditor, however, could sue for security for the next year.

2 Ibid., vol. II, pp. 296, 297. ^ 75 j-^^.^ vol. I, p. 294.

* Ibid., p. 340. 5 jjjid^^ vol. II, pp. 189, 190.

372 T^CONOMTC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

insolvency was in force in Virginia in the seventeenth century. 1

All debts made out of the Colony and due to mer- chants who did not live within its boundaries were subor- dinated to obligations contracted in Virginia, provided the claim based upon the latter was brought forward before the expiration of twelve months. If, however, the factor of the trader who was a non-resident took the precaution, two months after he arrived in the country with goods for sale, to enter on record the name of his principal and the value of the merchandise in his hands as agent, the principal acquired thereby all the rights en- joyed by the inhabitants of the Colony. A debt for goods was not recoverable in Virginia unless they had been really imported, no relaxation of the rule being allowed in case they had been captured by an enemy or had gone down in a wreck while on the way.^ It showed the ten- derness of the authorities for the merchants who, towards the end of the seventeenth century, supplied the people with commodities, that not infrequently when a debtor had fled, leaving a crop in the ground, which, unless worked and protected would go to ruin, the county court in- structed the planter who lived nearest to the spot to give the tobacco the proper attention, compensation for his trouble and loss of time being subsequently allowed him.^

1 Records of York County, vol. 1690-1694, p. 212^ Ya. State Library. Bpxords of Henrico County, vol. 1677-1692, p. 464, Va. State Library. About 1690, tlie authorities of York Couuty proposed to the General Assembly that after the first three months' imprisonment, the creditor should support his debtor in jail, if the latter had sworn that he was not in possession of property equal in value to the debt. See Becords of York County, vol. 1687-1691, p. 182, Ya. State Library.

2 Hartwell, Chilton, and Blair's Present State of Virginia, 1697, p. 42.

3 Becords of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1684-1699, p. 109, Ya. State Library.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 373

This spirit had not always been displayed towards the importing merchants. Their unconscionable dealings be- came at an early date the subject of legislative denuncia- tion. To such a point were these exactions carried in 1G28, that a large number of colonists, as we have seen, united in exporting their own tobacco to England and there exchanging it for the articles they required, instead of passing it into the hands of the English traders in re- turn for goods at exorbitant charges. So great was the unpopularity of this class as late in the century as 1672, that during the course of the attack which the Dutch, then at war with England, made upon the fleet of vessels, which in that year were bound out of James River with heavy cargoes on board, the planters were not anxious to furnish assistance, alleging in excuse the oppressions of the owners of the cargoes.^ The fault, however, did not lie en- tirely on the side of the latter. In the year 1632, when such a dearth of manufactured supplies prevailed in Virginia that vessels loaded with grain and tobacco had to be sent out to procure them from other Colonies, Captain Tucker, a leading trader, was accused of instructing his factors to sell only at the highest rates ; this he denied, claiming that the planters were already deeply in his debt for goods advanced them, and that he was not justified in incurring tlie risk of additional loss, since there was already no })rofit in the prices at which his agents were selling.^

It was the most common ground of complaint against the merchants that they insisted on holding buyers to the payment of the quantity of tobacco agreed upon, notwith-

1 Governor and Council to King, July 16, 1672, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. XXX ; Winder Papers, vol. I, p. 285, Va. State Library.

2 Governor Harvey to Lords Comniissioners, May 27, 1632, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. VI, No. 54 ; McDonald Papers, vol. II, p. 123, Va. State Library.

ol-i ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

standing any rise in the price of that staple after the con- clusion of the bargain. In such an instance, it was com- plained that the goods were sold at a more advanced rate than was anticipated. The course of events, however, might have worked in favor of the purchaser. Tobacco fell with as much rapidity as it rose. Articles to be paid for in so many pounds of that commodity in the following autumn might have been delivered when it was high, and before autumn arrived, might have fallen very low, entailing a heavy loss upon the trader. It is not likely that any complaint was heard from the planters in such a turn of prices as this.^

Accusations of deception were also brought against many of the merchants in regard to the weights and measures which they used. The perpetration of this species of fraud, not only by the traders, but by the in- habitants of the Colony in general, became so notorious that a special law was passed, declaring the English statute concerning that offence to be in force in Virginia. Whoever endeavored to cheat by the use of false stillyards was required to pay to the person whom he had sought to injure three times the amount of damage which he would have inflicted by his deceit. ^ As a further means of dis- couraging the repetition of acts of this nature, every county was required to provide at the public charge scaled weights of half-hundred, quarterns, half- quarterns, seven, four, two, and one pounds, and measures of ell and yard, bushel and half-bushel, peck and gallon of Win- chester measure, pottle, quart, pint, and half-pint ; and these standards were to be used by all persons who were

1 King to Governor and Council of Virginia, B7-itish State Papers, Colonial, vol. IX, No. 47, iSainsbitry Abstracts for 1637, p. 193, Va. State Library.

2 Heuiug's Statutes, vol. I, p. 391.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES Sib

not in possession of such as had been scaled or tried in England, upon the penalty of forfeiting one thousand pounds of tobacco. If the commissioners of the county, upon whom Avas imposed the duty of securing the proper measures and weights, failed to do so, they were to be fined five thousand pounds.^

The measures and weights to be found at the different county seats were procured from England. In 1665, Colonel Lemuel Mason and Major Thomas Willoughby were appointed by the court of Lower Norfolk County to enter into an agreement with a reliable shipmaster to im- port a full set of these instruments for use in that county. ^ This was doubtless the manner in which they were always obtained.

The Navigation laws undoubtedly had the effect of placing the people more in the power of the English merchants by restricting to the latter the right of import- ing into the Colony all of its foreign supplies. These laws went into practical operation after the Restoration, and perhaps raised the prices of imported goods in Virginia higher at first than they did afterwards, when the demand for its staple in the English market had increased, furnish- ing a larger field for its sale, and when British shipping had grown in volume, thus reducing the charges for freight. It was observed as early as 1657, that shoes, bought at the rate of twelve pounds of tobacco during the time the Dutch traders were introducing supplies into the Colony, could not be obtained after the passage of the first

1 Heiiing's Statutes, vol. II, pp. 89, 90. In 1678, the justices of Lower Norfolk County were indicted by the Grand Jury for not providing weights and measures as the law required. Original vol. 1G75-1686, f. p. 40.

- Becords of Lower Norfolk C'oimty, original vol. 1656-16G0, p. 436. There are frequent references in the Records of York and Middlesex Counties to the public weights and scales. See, for instance, Hecords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1680-1694, orders Dec. 5, 1693.

376 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

Navigation Act, wliicli, as has been seen, was enforced with great laxity, for less than fifty pounds, and it was claimed that the prices of all other commodities rose in proportion, even before the second Navigation Act had excluded the merchants of Holland altogether. ^ The Act of 1660 added sensibly to the dearness of imported articles, because it removed all active competition between the Dutch and English. The Dutch trader had enjoyed a great advantage over the English in being able to sail his ship at lesser expense, not only because the vessel had more room, but also because it was manned by a smaller crew. 2 Throughout the greater part of the seventeenth century, the people of Holland were larger producers of certain kinds of manufactured goods than the people of England, and were in a position to sell at lower figures. As long as English and Dutch merchants stood upon an equal footing in the Colony, the English had to con- form to the prices of the Dutch in disposing of their cargoes in Virginia, and from this fact its population reaped a decided advantage in the purchase of their sup- plies. The exclusion of the Dutch signified that the English trader was restricted only by competition with men of his own nationality in fixing his prices. The pro- tection of the inhabitants lay in the improvement in the methods of British navigation, and in the increase in the number of persons engaged in commerce with the Colony. That this number was able in the last part of the century to supply the demand for goods is shown in the answer made by Culpeper in 1681 to the authorities in England who had instructed him to suppress every form of fore- stalling and engrossing ; he declared that he had never received a single complaint with reference to such forms

1 Public Good ivithout Private Interest, p. 1-4.

2 Anderson's History of Commerce, vol. II, p. 210.

MANUFACTCTRED SUPPLIES 377

of extortion ; that they were not practised in Virginia ; and that the Council were ignorant of tlie meaning of the terms. 1

However small or large the gains of the foreign mer- chant, whether dealing with the inhabitants of Virginia by means of annual vessels, the cargoes of which were peddled wherever on the various rivers purchasers could be found, or sold through factors or agents who resided in the Colony, which was the usual course, the profit was suf- ficiently great to tempt most of the enterprising planters to enter into trade on their own account. It was one of the most marked features of the economic life of Virginia in the seventeenth century, that the leading citizens were engaged in more than one pursuit. The lawyers and physicians were not only producers of tobacco, but also keen speculators who bought a large quantity of that com- modity with goods or bills of exchange and shipped it to England to be disposed of by their representatives there. At a period as early as 1637, George Menefie, who was interested in planting, described himself as a merchant of the corporation of James City,^ and he found distin- guished successors as traders in tobacco at a later day in Fitzhugh and Byrd, who have left minute records in their correspondence of their different ventures. The authors of the Present State of Virgiriia, 1697, referred to the general class of merchants in the Colony as being simply country chapmen, but this was true only to the extent that they supplied the wants of a rural and scattered population. 3 In 1687, it is stated that there were on all

1 Instructions to Culpeper, British Stale Papers, Colonial, 1G81-82 ; reply to 56th clause, McDonald Papers, vol. VI, p. 153, Va. State Library.

2 Petition of George Menefie, Doni. Chas. I, vol. o23, pp. 130, 138, Sainsbnry Ahstrarts for 1637, p. 207, \'a. State Library.

=* Hartwell, Chilton, and Blair's Present State of Virginia, 1C97, p. 9.

378 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

of the navigable streams, from ten to thirty phxnters who had a part in tliis local trade, ^ and so considerable were the operations of these wealthy citizens in mercantile life, that Jones, who visited the Colony many years afterwards, affirms that they made as great and advantageous a busi- ness for the advancement of the public good as most merchants upon the Royal Exchange in London. He especially commended the "fair and genteel" way in which they carried on their transactions.^ These mer- chant planters were men of the first consequence in the Colony, sitting not only as members of the House of Bur- gesses, but also as Councillors of the State and filling all of the higher ofiices. With few exceptions, the founda- tion of the great fortunes in lands, negroes, and live stock, which gave so much distinction to the leading families in the eighteenth century, had been laid in the seventeenth in largest part by trading in tobacco, in addition to culti- vating that staple. The manner in which this trading was conducted is illustrated in many instances preserved in the letters of Colonel Fitzhugh. He was in the habit of contracting to deliver many thousand pounds of tobacco to the local representatives of an English merchant in return for so many pounds sterling worth of goods, and in case of a deficiency in the cargo he was to receive a certain amount of metallic money or a certain number of slaves and servants. The details of this arrangement had their counterpart, with some little variation, in the numer- ous bargains of other planters of the same period. Where such an agreement had been entered into with an English merchant, it was not uncommon to adopt the following plan in turning over the tobacco named in the stipulation:

^ Colonel Quarry's Memorial, 3Iass. Hist. Collections, vol. VII, .3d series, p. 232.

■^ Hugh Jones' State of Virginia, p. 55.

MANUFACTUllED SUPPLIES 379

as soon as the vessel arrived in Virginia, her master was handed notes for the delivery of one-third of her loading, these notes being honored at the rolling-houses where the tohacco was stored ; when this part of the cargo had been taken on board, the planter was ready to give notes for the delivery of the second third, and so on until the whole amount had been stored in the ship. In many instances, doubtless, he was prepared to transfer the whole amount in one series of notes. In a case mentioned by Fitzhugh, he contracted to deliver ninety-two thousand pounds, one- third of which was to be obtained from his own estate, and the other two-thirds from rolling-houses in his vicinity. Ninety-two thousand pounds made up a cargo of two hun- dred hogsheads, Avhich, according to the prices prevailing at that time, were worth seven hundred and seventy-six pounds sterling. One-half of this amount, Fitzhugh de- sired to be paid him in the form of merchandise suitable to the needs of the country. ^ In a letter to Captain Sam- uel Jefferson in 1685, he proposed to deliver fifty thousand pounds of tobacco, in return for which he was to receive goods amounting in value to three hundred and fifty-eight pounds sterling. 2

In the early history of the Colony, merchant planters in many instances had residences and storehouses at Jamestown while holding and cultivating large estates elsewhere ; this was the case with John Chew, Arthur Bayley, and Edward Sanderson. Some at this period, on the other hand, lived on their plantations and kept

1 See a somewhat similar instance in the Becords of York County, vol. 1664-1672, p. 177, Va. State Library, illustrating the use made of notes in passing title to tobacco stored in warehouses.

2 Letters of William Fitzhugh, Feb. 18, 1684-85. Fitzhugh, writ- ing to John Cooper in May (18th), 1685, says: "I suppose this crop, if crops prove anything like, I shall be master of betwixt 500 or COO hogsheads." Ibid., May 18, 1685.

380 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

storehouses at Jamestown ; this was the course followed by Abraham Piersey, the former Cape Merchant and the most promment citizen in Virginia at the time of his death. 1 Very large areas of land were secured by men of this class in consideration of the importation or pur- chase by them of many servants and slaves. In 1638, George Menefie sued out a patent to three thousand acres on the basis of sixty head rights, and in the following year he acquired a patent to three thousand acres addi- tional.^ In 1634, Robert Vaulx and William Gooch obtained a patent to six thousand acres. ^ Thomas Stegg, William Byrd, and others who combined the pursuits of trading and planting, are found from time to time acquir- ing large grants. j\Iany of the English merchants owned much land in Virginia, not only in individual holdings, but also in partnership with persons who resided in the Colony.*

The store was one of the principal institutions in Vir- ginia, whether the property of a foreign or a native merchant. In the course of time, stores Avhich at first Avere confined to the principal ports were found in great numbers on every navigable stream, this situation being preferred not only because the adjacent country was the most thickly settled and the planters the wealthiest, but

1 An Account of Abraham Kersey's Estate, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. VIII, No. 5, II ; Sainsbury Abstracts for 1633, P- 57, Va. State Library.

2 Va. Land Patents, vol. 1623-1643, pp. 691, 704.

3 Ibid., vol. 1652-1655, p. 357. Similar instances are preserved in great numbers in the Patent Books.

* Ibid., vol. 1623-1643, p. 417. There are many instances in which English merchants devised by will estates in Virginia. See New Eng- land Historical and Genealogical Begister, April, 1893, p. 273. It is said that John Bland spent £10,000 on his plantations in Virginia. British State Papers, Colonial Entry Book, No. 80, pp. 51-59 ; Sainsbury Ab- stracts for 1676, p. 235, Va. State Library.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 381

also because the principal highways of each community were the creeks and rivers. The authors of the Present State of Virginia^ 1697, complained that the stores were such important centres in each neighborhood that they had a powerful influence in repressing the growth of the towns, which it was sought to foster by legislation, and they suggested as the first step towards giving an impulse to the expansion of these towns that it should be required to build or keep open stores elsewhere.^

The store was sometimes a room in the house of a planter ; this was true in the case of the store of Robert Hodges of Lower Norfolk,^ and also of Newell's in York. Jerome Ham, who is described in the deed as "gentleman," in making a lease of his plantation in the latter county, refers to his dwelling-house, kitchen, and store, as if they were grouped very closely together.^ The store was generally detached from the dwelling. It was probably as a rule a boarded house with a loft and with a shed.* In the towns, it was very often a rented building ; this being the case with the one at Hampton referred to in the records of Elizabeth City County for 1G94. The charge for its use was twenty-five shillings a month. ^

Whether the store was owned by a merchant who resided abroad, and who therefore carried on business through the agency of his factor, or was the property of a wealthy planter ^ or a native merchant, the aim of the owner

1 Hartwell, Chilton, and Blair's Present State of Virginia, 1697, p. 12.

2 Becords of Lower Norfolk County., original vol. 1675-1686, f. p. 117.

3 Becords of York County, vol. 1675-1684, Newell, p. 139 ; Ham, p. 596.

4 Ibid., vol. 1664-1672, p. 260, Va. State Library.

s Becords of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1684-1699, p. 29, Va. State Library.

'J "To all, etc., now know ye, etc., I give and grant unto Col. Richard Lee five acres of Land lying in the County of Gloucester towards the

382 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

was to supply the special goods demanded by the needs of the inhabitants of the Colony. To enumerate the contents of one of these establishments would be to name all the articles, with a few exceptions, in use in Virginia in the seventeenth century. A store in the rural districts of the State to-day is less of an epitome of the wants of the people in certain directions than a store in the valley of the James in the last half of the seventeenth century. In the present age, custom is diverted from the country store by the proximity of cities in which the best class of goods can be procured without difficulty, in person or by corre- spondence. It is true that in the seventeenth century, custom was diverted from the store by orders given to merchants in England, but these direct dealings with the mother country were practically restricted to planters engaged in trade or possessed of large wealth. It is not strange to find that cloths and garments made up the larger portion of the contents of the average establishment. In this respect, the inventory of the Hubbard store, situated in York County, which was taken in 1G67, after the death of the owner, did not differ from others which either pre- ceded or followed it. It contained lockram, canvas, dow- las, Scotch 'cloth, blue linen, oznaburg, cotton, hoUand, serge, kersey, and flannel in bales, full suits for adults and youths, bodices, bonnets, and laces for women, shoes for persons of both sexes, gloves, hose, cloaks, cravats, handkerchiefs, hats, and other articles of dress in use in that age. In addition, there was a large miscellaneous collection of goods, such as hammers, hatchets, chisels, augers, locks, staples, nails, sickles, bellows, froes, saws, axes, files, bed-cords, dishes, knives, flesh-forks, porringers,

head of Poropotank Creek, whereon the store of the said Col. Lee standeth, and is a part of a dividend whicli Peter Knight, merchant, deserted for want of seating." Va. Land Patents, vol. 165d-1GG4, p. 47.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 383

sauce-pans, frying-pans, gridirons, tongs, shovels, hoes, iron posts, tables, physic, wool-cards, gimlets, compasses, nee- dles, stirrups, looking-glasses, candlesticks, candles, fun- nels, twenty-five pounds of raisins, one hundred gallons of hrandy, twenty gallons of wine, and ten gallons of aqua- vitee. The contents of the Hubbard store were valued at six hundred and fourteen pounds sterling, a sum which represented about fifteen thousand dollars in our present currency.^

The inventory of the store of Edward Phelps, taken in 1679, showed the same enormous disprojDortion of cloths and clothing as compared with other kinds of goods. There were for one item alone about six hundred and seventy-five yards of linen of many varieties, and also about three hundred yards of woollen, eighty-one pairs of stockings, fifty pairs of shoes, a large quantity of tape, gimp and thread buttons, felt hats, blankets, curtains, and valances. In addition it included many articles of a miscel- laneous character, such as smoothing-irons, scissors, knives, bellows, frying-pans, pots, kettles, spoons, hoes, axes, files and adzes, curry-combs, saddles, nutmegs, mustard, soap, twenty-four thousand ten-penny nails, seventeeJi thousand six-penny, eight thousand double-penny, one hundred and nine pounds of shot, twenty pairs of fishing lines, and fifteen hooks for sheepsheads. The contents of this store were appraised at one hundred and ninety-four pounds sterling, or about forty-eight hundred dollars in our pres- ent currency. 2

1 Becords of York County, vol. 1CG4-1672, p. .319, Va. State Library.

2 The inventory of the personal property owned by Phelps at his death will be found in Becords of York County, vol. 1675-1684, p. 172, Ya. State Libraiy. The special reference in the text is to the appraisement of goods "out of the store belonging to Mr. Edward Phelpes, Dec^ , in the possession of Mrs. Temperance Dun, delivered to Coll. Wm. Cole, one of the attorneys of James Wall, guardian to Edward Phelpes, an orphan

384 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

The contents of the store kept by Mr. Isaac Cullen, as the agent of John Harris and John Cooper, merchants of EngLand, in 1675, were chiefly composed of canvas, cot- tons, hoUands, kerseys, Scotch cloth, jeans, broadcloth, blue linen, tape, ribbon, thread, buttons, combs, hose, shoes, and other articles for wear. The inventory of this store also included a large number of kitchen utensils, tools for the workshop, and scales and weights.

The inventory of the store owned by Colonel Francis Eppes of Henrico, taken in 1678, discloses contents still more remarkable for quantity, quality, and variety. In the matter of linen, there were one hundred and twenty ells of dowlas, fifty-one ells of oznaburg, sixty ells of can- vas, three hundred and twelve ells of holland, and eighty yards of table and napkin diaper. There was a large quantity of serge, red cotton, kersey, broadcloth, Spanish cloth, white duffield, rugs, blankets, bed -ticking, sixty-two pairs of shoes, yarn and worsted hose for women and children, brown and white thread, tape, lace, hoods, pins, buttons, bodices and sleeves, razors, knives, scissors, shears, steel tobacco-boxes, pewter salts, candlesticks, tankards, spoons, tin quart pots, sauce-pans, lamps, cullenders, pep- per-boxes, lanterns, large and small fishing lines and hooks, wooden bellows and sifters, sieves, dishes, ladles and brooms, iron pots, chafing-dishes, frying-pans, shovels, spades, hoes, shares and colters, hammers, chisels, and augers, many thousand nails of all sizes, brass mortars, one barrel of powder, five barrels of shot, fifty pounds of sugar, half a firkin of butter, four pounds of ginger, and finally a small collection of books. ^

in England the last day of June or first of July, 1679." See same volume. See also liecords of York County, vol. 1671-1694, p. 113, Va. State Library.

1 Jiecords of Henrico CoxmUj, vol. 1677-1092, p. 93, Va, State Library.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 385

Tlie store of Edward Lockey contained, in addition to the usual quantity of cloths and clothing, brass coat-but- tons, a paper of hooks and eyes, andirons, sheep-shears, plough-chains, brass scales, and reap-hooks. Among the articles in the Foison store in Henrico were holland night- caps, muslin neck-cloths, silk-fringed gloves, silver shoe- buckles, embroidered holland waistcoats, two dozen pairs of white gloves, one lace cap, seven lace shirts, nine lace ruffles, holster caps of scarlet embroidered with silver and gold, gold and silver hat-bands, a parcel of sil- ver lace, three yards of gold lace, and a feathered velvet cap. This storekeeper possessed at the time of his death eight buckskins and sixty-five doeskins. In the inventory of Edward Lockey, there were also three tanned doeskins. ^

There were few storekeepers in the Colony who were not engaged in the Indian trade, the exchange of merchandise for furs, skins, and other goods being attended with large profits. Guns, ammunition, rum, blankets, knives, and hatchets were the articles in greatest demand among the tribes. It will be interesting to make some examination of the various regulations which were from the earliest period adopted to control this trade. In the session of 1631-32 all traffic with the aborigines was prohibited, whether carried on by public or private enterprise. ^ In the following year, an Act was passed providing that

1 Records of York County, vol. 1664-1672, p. 260, Va. State Library. Additional instances of stores and their contents will be found in the inventories of Robert Beckingham of Lancaster (liecords, original vol. 1674-1687, p. 33) and Robert Hodges of Lower Norfolk (orighial vol. 1675-1686, f. p. 116). It may be mentioned as an evidence of the extent to which business was at this time conducted on credit, that the debts due Beckingham amounted to 193,420 lbs. of tobacco, and to William Travers to 1.51,072 lbs. Records of BappaJiannock County, 1677-1682, p. 73. An interesting invoice of goods, that of Captain Robert Ranson, will be found in Eecords of York County, vol. 1604-1697, p. 368, Va. State Library.

2 Heuing's Statutes, vol. I, p. 173.

VOL. II. — 2 C

386 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

forfeiture of all his property and imprisonment for life sliould be inflicted upon any one who sold guns, powder, and shot to Indians or bartered these articles for their goods. 1 Previous to this time, it appears to have been the habit of many to purchase large quantities of cloth from the stores, and to exchange it for furs and skins, thus creating a dearth of this material, which led to much inconvenience and suffering among the planters ; this trade was now forbidden unless the Governor had reason to know that the supplies of cloth to be found in the Colony could be diminished by partial withdrawal and dispersion among Indian buyers without trenching upon the needs of the people. A license, however, had to be obtained before this trade could be legally pursued. ^ Ten years later, the penalty for bartering guns, powder, and shot with the Indians was the forfeiture of his whole estate by the offender ; if the commodities exchanged were ordinary goods, he was to undergo imprisonment for as long a period as the Governor and Council should con- sider his offence deserved. ^

In 1656, the right was granted to every freeman to sell to the Indians any article not included in the list of those especially prohibited by law. It was still forbidden to exchange guns, powder, and shot.* In 1658-59, this regulation was abolished on the ground that the people of the neighboring plantations, both English and Dutch, were furnishing the aborigines with large supplies of weapons and ammunition. By this alteration of the law, the safety of the Colony, it was stated, was not dimin- ished, and the profits acquired by barter with the Indians were very much increased.^ It was soon found, however,

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 219,

2 Ibid., p. 219. 4 Ibid., pp. 415, 441.

3 Ibid., p. 255. 5 j^id^ p. 525.

MAXUFACTUEED SUPPLIES 387

that the trade in arms and ammunition filled the settle- ments with rumors of projected outbreaks, leading to widespread uneasiness ; it was determined, therefore, to require every person engaged in this trade, Avhich seems at this time to have been practically confined to beaver, otter, and other furs, to obtain a commission from the Governor of the Colony. The latter was admonished to grant it only to those who were known to be distin- guished for integrity, and who in consequence could be relied upon not to abuse the privilege. ^ This Act seems to have been disregarded to a great extent, many unli- censed men continuing in a secret way to trade with the Indian tribes. To suppress this evil, it was provided that every uncommissioned person discovered dealing with the aborigines should forfeit treble the value of the articles which he obtained under these circumstances. All contro- versies between the Indians and the commissioned traders were to be settled by the Governor, or an arbitrator whom he should appoint for the purpose.^

The importance of the Indian trade was shown as early as 16G2, by the report of a committee which at that time sat upon Indian affairs. This committee, finding that the traffic of the Virginians with the aborigines was seriously injured by the encroachments of the English and Indian inhabitants of Maryland, as well as of tribes residing further to the north, recommended that measures should be adopted to put a stop to this system of barter- ing on the part of these strangers, and in pursuance of tliis recommendation, a prohibitory law was passed.^ The exchange of arms and ammunition for the commodities of the Indians was again expressly interdicted in 1665.* The punishment now prescribed was a fine of ten thou-

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 20, s /^jV/., p. 153.

2 16 1(7., p. 140. i Ibid., IX 21o.

388 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

sand pounds of tobacco or imprisonment for two years, and if the offence was committed a second time, it was to be considered a felony. It was found later that far more severe steps had to be taken for the strict enforce- ment of the statute. In March, 1676, when the prospect of an Indian war was imminent, it was provided that all who supplied the aborigines with arms, powder, and shot should not only forfeit their whole estates but suffer death in addition. The only persons allowed to furnish friendly Indians with match-coats, hoes, and axes were such as had been nominated by the county courts.^ One of the first of the laws passed by the Assembly controlled by Bacon made all trade with the aborigines illegal unless they were serving in the war with the English, in which case also no weapon or ammunition was to be given them.^ In the following year, the right of absolute free trade was granted to the Indian population of the Eastern Shore,^ and a year later there was a relaxation of the rule for- bidding all commerce with the tribes of the Western Shore, since it had been found highly injurious to the inhabitants of the Colony. Certain places were now appointed as public marts, to which all Indians who were at peace with the whites were invited to come at a speci- fied time. These marts were situated respectively in Henrico, Isle of Wight, New Kent, Rappahannock, Lan- caster, Stafford, Accomac, and Northampton, and were to be open in March, April, and May, and in September and November, the occasion for each being restricted to a day in one of the spring months and » day in one of the au- tumn. For each mart, an account of all the trading which took place there was kept by a clerk appointed by the Governor. The Wicocomico Indians in Northumberland

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 337. 2 j^id., pp. 350, 351.

^ Ibid., p. 403.

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and the Cheskiack in Gloucester were to be permitted to trade with the English under special regulations adopted by the authorities of the counties in which they resided. ^ Three years subsequent to the passage of this Act, the rules it laid down were found to be the source of so much inconvenience that all obstructions to an absolute free trade with the friendly tribes were removed and the colonists were left at liberty to exchange commodities with them wherever and whenever the interests of both sides dictated. This rule was to remain in force only until the next Assembly convened, but in a few years it was reenacted in still more explicit terms. It was made "lawful for all persons at all times and at all places to carry on a free and open trade with all Indians whatsoever. "^

No description of the mercantile condition of Virginia in the seventeenth century would be complete without some reference to the repeated but unsuccessful attempts to establish regular markets in the Colony. The fair was one of the oldest of the trade institutions of the mother country, having its origin and principal encouragement in an age when population was sparse, and when it was therefore necessary to have fixed occasions on which people could come together from a distance and exchange their products. The introduction of the fair into Vir- ginia would have been natural not only on account of the commercial traditions of the inhabitants as scions of the English stock, but also because of the scattered population of the Colony. In 1649, it was decided to hold markets every week at Jamestown, which was one form of the English fair. These markets were to be restricted to Wednesdays and Saturdays. The boundaries of the mar- ket-place were to be carefully laid off. Execution was to issue upon any written and properly attested evidence

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, pp. 410-412. 2 /^^-j.^ y^i m^ p_ (39.

390 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

of debt that had been drawn in proof of a bargain entered into in its limits at any time between eight in the morn- ing and six in the afternoon without the usual requirement of first obtaining judgment. The clerk was to record, in a book to be provided for the purpose, every bond, bill, or other writing passed in a sale, and if the amount rej^re- sented in a bargain exceeded three hundred pounds of tobacco, his fee was to be four pounds, and if under that figure, one pound. Ground seems to have been assigned for the site of this market-place. ^

In 1655, the Assembly determined to establish one or more market-places in each county, to be situated in the neighborhood of a river or creek, with a view to greater accessibility. Here all the trade of the country was to be concentrated; the articles imported from England or else- where were to be brought to these points from the ports prescribed by law; and if the owners of such articles disposed of them without having done this, they were to be punished as forestallers. They were, however, left at liberty to sell their goods in any one which they preferred. All were to be kept open on certain days, but there was to be no conflict between the days of adjoining markets. The court-house, the prison, the offices of the clerk and sheriff, and, as far as possible, the churches and ordinaries of each county, were to be erected in the circuit of its market. When merchandise had been in the country for a period exceeding eight months, the owner could dispose of it wherever he wished without exposing himself to pun- ishment as a f orestaller.2 It is a curious commentary upon

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 362. See Ibid, vol. I, pp. 397, 414.

2 Tbicl, pp. 412-414. The following is from the records of Lancaster County under the date of 1655 : " Whereas the western side of Curroto- man River was only mentioned the last June Court for a market-place, and that by the Act for Stores the market-place might be on both sides of a small river if it is convenient for the inhabitants, it is ordered that

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 391

the provisions of this elaborate statute that only two years after its passage, the Assembly passed a second Act 'de- claring that whoever established a market, "whether the merchants shall come for sale or not," shall be looked upon as a public benefactor ; a tacit confession that the previous law, like all laws restricting the action of the traders, had proved a failure. ^ The instructions given to Culpeper in 1679, to establish markets and fairs in the Colony, seem to have come to nothing. All endeavors of the kind were likely to have the same end, not only be- cause they were opposed to the interests of the merchants but also because of the configuration of the country, which was unfavorable to any concentration of the population, even of the same j^arts, for however brief a time.

the said market-place extend also from the eastern side of the said river downwards two miles according to the said Act." Records, original vol. 1652-1657, p. 214.

1 Heuiug's Statutes, vol. I, p. 476.

CHAPTER XVII

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES : DOIMESTIC

In describing the influences which led to the coloniza- tion of Virginia by the English people, it was pointed out that among the objects sought to be secured by that mem- orable enterprise were not only the acquisition of a virgin territory in which might be produced those raw materials that England was compelled to purchase at a heavy ex- pense, and with a constant risk of interruption, from the Continental nations, but also the creation of a new market in which she might dispose of an enormous quantity of merchandise of her own manufacture. These two an- ticipations were closely related to each other. The prin- ciples they represented were the corner-stones of the famous mercantile system, which formed the commercial policy of the English Government from the beginning of the sixteenth to the close of the eighteenth century. The planters in Virginia were expected to export their raw materials to England, and in return to receive from the mother country the various supplies required. The exclusive attention given to tobacco from the earliest period in the history of the settlement defeated one of the leading purposes for which it was founded ; that is to say, the new Colony failed to furnish England with the com- modities which she had been exporting from Russia, Sweden, Holland, France, Spain, and the East. It will be remembered that the exportations in question left the 392

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 393

balance of trade constantly in favor of these countries. The amount of English goods which they took in ex- change was insignificant, and as the difference in the balance in trade was paid in coin, there resulted a con- dition Avhich in that age appeared full of danger to Eng- lish interests. The persistence with which the Virginians continued to cultivate tobacco occasioned keen disappoint- ment to English economists in the early part of the seven- teenth century, as it destroyed all prospect of the Colony's furnishing a remedy for this supposedly unfortunate state of trade by presenting a field where England would be able to procure the raw materials which she required in exchange for her manufactures, without the need of pass- ing a single pound sterling in addition.

While Virginia did not fulfil the hope that had been entertained as to its ability to furnish the English people with the supplies exported hitherto from the continent of Europe, the expectation that it would form a valuable market for the sale of English merchandise was soon found to be just. That the Colony was in a position to purchase this merchandise was to be attributed not to shipments of iron, timber, potash, hemp, silk, and the other commodities which English statesmen had at one time so confidently looked forward to obtaining from its soil, but to shipments of tobacco, a product which, in the beginning, the English Government had sought strenu- ously to discourage, and had afterwards striven hard to monopolize, at first unsuccessfully but successfully later, when, by the terms of the Navigation Act of 1660, it became an enumerated article.

The same commercial principle influencing the English authorities to use every means at their command to pre- vent the diversion to Holland and other foreign countries of the tobacco jiroduced in Virginia, also impelled them

394 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

to repress all efforts on the part of the colonists to manu- facture their own clothing and other supplies equally necessary. The Dutch did not pay for the cargoes which they purchased of the Virginians in coin or bills of exchange, but in merchandise of various sorts. Every coat worn by the planter, every dram of spirits consumed by him, which had been obtained by means of tobacco from traders of Holland, diminished to that extent the value of the Virginian market for English goods ; and to an equal extent, the value of that market was dimin- ished whenever the planter substituted for the suit which he was able to buy of the English merchant, a suit woven, cut, and sewn by members of his own family. To pro- mote or allow the growth of the manufacturing spirit in the Colony was as dangerous as to refuse to interfere with the exercise on the part of its people of the right of absolute free trade. In time, they might not only meet their own needs as to manufactured goods, but also export such goods to countries where England now enjoyed a profitable market, a market which might soon grow unprofitable to her by rivalry with Virginian com- petitors, since the latter would possess the advantage of cheaper raw materials as the basis of their manufactures. For these reasons, it appeared to be of vital importance to the English statesmen of the seventeenth century that the planters should not be allowed to take steps looking to the development of manufacturing interests among them, and it cannot be said that their views were wholly untenable. To permit the colonists to export their agri- cultural products to any foreign country and at the same time to foster manufactures in Virginia, was to destroy ^ all the ties except those of race uniting England to the population of that territory ; upon her would have been imposed the burden of defending the planters in case of

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 395

an attack by a foreign enemy, without any proportionate advantage.

The mercantile system bore less hardly on Virginia than on New England. Her soil was capable of produc- ing a commodity which found a remunerative market in the mother country, whereas New England was thrown back upon her agricultural products, whicli it was im- possible after 1650 to import into England on account of the heavy duties then imposed to protect the English farmer from foreign competition. The inhabitants of New England were, therefore, comj)elled to exchange their provisions for the rum, sugar, and molasses of the West Indies, as almost their only resource for obtaining the means of paying for the English manufactures needed by her people. Virginia having a direct trade Avith the mother country in a commodity for which a market was always ready there, a commodity that assured the acquisi- tion of all manufactured articles entering into the general economy of her population, was deprived of one of the strongest motives in which the development of manufact- ures has its origin. Such development begins with local wants, and growing larger and more extensive in its scope, ends in supplying foreign needs. The Virginian planter was not forced, like the farmer of New England, to transfer his products to Barbadoes and Jamaica to be exchanged for the products of those islands, which in turn were to be conveyed to the English ports, there to be sold to obtain the clothing which he was to wear, the furniture which he was to place in his chamber and hall, the utensils for use in his kitchen and dairy, the tools for handling in his workshop, and the implements whicli he was to employ in his fields. The English ship that sailed up to his wharf came loaded down with a cargo of these articles, which were offered to him for his tobacco ; and he had

396 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

merely to consign his crop to the sailors who manned the vessel by the temporary transfer of the keys of his barns. When he sold, not to the owner of the ship, but to the local merchant who had supplied him with goods, the process of delivery was equally free from complication and indirectness. From this, it will be seen that the Virginian planter of the seventeenth century had but a small inducement to begin or promote a movement in favor of local manufactures on a scale of great importance, even if we suppose that the influence of all the economic interests of the mother country would not have been set against such a movement.

There was no inherent repugnance in the English stock transferred to the valleys of the James and York, to the pursuit of manufactures, although they leaned, like men of their race in the mother country, towards an agricult- ural life. They became an agricultural people by force of the conditions surrounding them from the foundation of the earliest settlement. The power of the English Government was used to divert their attention from manufactures even in the rudest form ; many influences united to discourage the growth of manufacturing inter- ests in the Virginian Colony as in all other colonies, however populous, but even if the English authorities had sought to advance the prosperity of these interests in Virginia in the seventeenth century, and the local conditions had been favorable to a manufacturing spirit, there would doubtless still have been reason to remark upon the disinclination of the people to produce their own manufactured supplies without any assistance from the outside. In the long period between the close of the Revolution and the breaking out of the late war between the sections, when all restrictions upon the growth of manufactures had been removed, the State remained a

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 397

community of plantations, althougli so much of tlie fer- tility of the soil had been exhausted. In the seventeenth century, Virginia was still more distinctly a plantation community, a community of small principalities bound together by social ties, but not economically dependent upon each other. There was alwaj's a tendency in each plantation towards still greater concentration of its special interests, because the requirements of tobacco culture exer- cised an unceasing influence towards the enlargement of the boundaries of each estate, thus increasing its isolation from the community in general. One of the principal effects of the seclusion of plantation life in Virginia result- ing from the enlargement of the plantation area, was to discourage the growth of the cooperative spirit among the people in their economic affairs. It is this spirit upon which manufactures in their perfected form must rely in great measure for support. The lack of this spirit explains to some extent the absence of small towns in the Colony in the seventeenth century, but this fact, as will be shown hereafter, was also due to the configuration of the country, which was opposed to a concentration of population. Such a concentration, of course, would have been highly favorable to manufactures. Beverley, who indulged a spirit of exaggeration to some extent, writing towards the end of the seventeenth century, when the English had been in possession of the country for nearly a hundred years, reproached the inhabitants not only for their slovenly and wasteful system of agriculture and their neglect of many products to which the soil was adapted, but also for their strong indisposition to supply themselves by local manufactures with a larger proportion of those articles which they had, from the foundation of the first settlement, been obtaining by importation from, abroad. The Virginians, he said, sheared their sheep only to cool

398 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

them. There was little thought of the clothing into which the fleeces could have been converted. The head covering of the Virginians was made of fur which had been sent to England from the Colony for working up, and then returned in the shape of hats to be sold or bartered at a great advance on the cost of the raw material. A large quantity of the hides which were a part of the annual pro- duction of every plantation were thrown on the ground to rot, or were used to protect goods from the rain dropping through the leaky roofs. Some of the hides, it is true, were manufactured into shoes, but the process was so carelessly and rudely performed that the planters bought English shoes in preference whenever the opportunity presented itself. Although the forests of Virginia fur- nished varieties of woods which in delicacy of grain and durability of fibre were peculiarly suitable for the manufacture of every kind of woodenware, neverthe- less the inhabitants of the Colony persisted in obtain- ing from England their chairs, tables, stools, chests, boxes, cart-wheels, and even their bowls and birchen brooms.^

Regarded from a general point of view, these criticisms of Beverley were not unjust. Virginia in the seventeenth century was not, in the modern sense of the word, a seat of manufactures, but it would be grossly inaccurate to say that manufactures in the ruder forms were totally un- known. Such a condition of affairs would have been wdiolly inconsistent with the peculiar spirit of the planta- tion system, that system which tended to create in each estate its own source of supplies as far as a crude skill could create it. English manufactures began in the home ; there were few dwelling-houses in the rural parts of England in the seventeenth century which did not con- 1 Beverley's History of Virginia, p. 239.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 399

tain a spinning-wheel or a weaver's frame. ^ The busy hum of the one and the measured rattle of the other were heard in nearly every household. How natural then to expect to find in the homes of the Virginians of the same period — men and women, who, in many instances, had been born in the mother country and who clung to the habits as well as to the traditions of their race — rude appliances for the plainest manufactures to cover their simplest material needs. That such appliances were to be found there, will be shown in the proper place.

Let us first inquii-e into the condition of the mechanical trades in the Colony. The white mechanics of Virginia in the seventeenth century can be divided into two dis- tinct classes. First, there were those who as servants were bound under the terms of their contracts for a cer- tain number of years ; secondly, freemen who were skilled in the use of tools and who were prepared to perform any work pertaining to their trade which was given them to do. The class of indented tradesmen was the largest of the two, being recruited from abroad or from among the natives of the soil. There were not, however, as strong motives to influence the handicraftsmen of England to emigrate to Virginia as servants, as existed in the case of its agricultural laborers. The English mechanic belonged to an order enjoying special privileges by the force of legislation ; he was carefully trained in his particular craft b}^ an apprenticeship that admitted him into a close corporation, the number of the members of which was not sufficiently great to diminish seriously his chance of olitaining work, by raising up many competitors. If he was skilled in his calling and sober in his conduct, there was little danger of his being thrown upon the parish

1 Rogers' ffistory of Agriculture and Prices in England, Vol. V, pp. 551, 587.

400 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

even for a partial support. The great body of the labor- ing classes of England in the seventeenth century, what- ever their grade or pursuit, very naturally preferred to remain in their native country, and when they emigrated to America, they were perhaps moved by a desire to escape from intolerable evils as much as by a hope of securing an independence.

Virginia was well known to be essentially an agricul- tural community. In seeking a new home there, the English agricultural laborer expected to change his skies but not his employment. On the other hand, to the Eng- lish mechanic who was able to support his family by fol- lowing his trade, the advantages offered by the Colony were comparatively small unless he wished to adopt agri- cultural pursuits. There were mechanics in the mother country, however, who were either discontented with the degree of success which they had won, or who were swayed by a restless disposition or tempted by liberal offers. To such men, Virginia extended the prospect of an improved condition of life and they readily assented to pro- posals to try their fortunes there, first as handicraftsmen bound to service by indentures, and after the expiration of their terms, as planters and handicraftsmen combined.

The necessity of introducing mechanics into the Colony was recognized from its foundation. Among the band of men who made the voyage to Virginia in 1607, there were four carpenters, two bricklayers, a blacksmith, and a mason. 1 The persons who were sent over in the First Supply included a cooper and a blacksmith. ^ Fourteen artisans were imported in the Second Supply. From time to time, the Company issued advertisements for the purpose of securing members of the different trades. In one of these public papers, there were enumerated brick-

1 Works of Capt. John Smith, p. 94. - Ibid., p. 108.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 401

makers, bricklayers, masons, wrights for water and iron mills, founders, makers of edge tools, shipwrights, car- penters, ealkers, coopers, tanners, shoemakers, and tile- makers.^ Previous to the departure of Gates and Dale from England, a broadside was published, in Avhich special inducements were offered to carpenters, smiths, coopers, tanners, shoemakers, shipwrights, and brickmen, among others, to emigrate to Virginia as a part of the expedi- tion to set out at an early day.^ In the account of the population in 1616, the only tradesmen referred to were smiths and carpenters, indicating that either the advertise- ments had not been generally successful in persuading Eng- lish artisans to settle in the Colony, or if representatives of the different crafts had gone over, a great majority had been absorbed in the body of the agricultural laborers, there being no field for the employment of their skill.^

ArgoU seems to have been disposed in the early part of his administration to adopt measures to promote the wel- fare of the trades ; all mechanics were relieved by him from the operation of the provision that the tenant should cultivate two acres in grain under penalty of forfeiting their crops, and of being reduced to slavery in the public service.* In the instructions received by Yeardley on taking charge of affairs in 1619, he was directed to allot to every tradesman who decided to follow his handicraft in preference to engaging in husbandry, a tract of four acres. This area of ground, upon which a dwelling-house

1 Tradesmen to be sent to Virginia, Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 409. It is stated tliat wlien Smitli witlidrew from the Colony in 1609, there was but one carpenter left among the settlers. See Wo7'ks of Capt. John Smith, p. 486.

2 Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 445.

^ Rolfe's Relation, see Neill's Virginia Company of London, p. 107. The "etc." in the text of the Relation may include the other artisans. •* Randolph MSS., vol. Ill, p. 143.

VOL. II. —2 D

402 ECONOMIC HISTOEY OF VIKGINIA

was to be erected, was to be conveyed in fee simple, sub- ject to a quit-rent of four pence. ^ In a petition drawn by the First Assembly which met in Virginia, for presen- tation to the Company in England, it was urged that steps should be taken to dispatch workingmen to the Colony who should be competent to erect the projected college building, an indication that there were few me- chanics among its population at this time.^ In compliance with this request apparently, a committee appointed by a Quarter Court, sitting in London in this year, recommended that smiths, carpenters, bricklayers, brickmakers, and pot- ters should be transported to Virginia to be set down on the lands assigned to the college. ^ That the number of the mechanics still remained unequal to the demand for their services is shown by the letter, addressed to the Company in the winter of 1622 by the Governor and Council, stating that it had been decided to erect an inn at Jamestown for the accommodation of persons who had just arrived, but that it was first necessary to secure from England, carpenters, brickmakers, and bricklayers. There was, the colonial authorities declared, a great lack of such useful tradesmen, although all persons engaged in these pursuits were remunerated at a generous rate.* A few months subsequent to the transmission of this letter, Leonard Hudson, a carpenter, accompanied by five appren-

1 Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. II, p. 160. In 1619, Rolfe expressed regret that there were at that time no carpenters in Virginia to make carts and ploughs. See Works of Capt. John Smith, p. 541.

2 Lawes of Assembly, 1619, Colonial Records of Virginia, State Sen- ate Doct., Extra, 1874, p. 16.

2 Abstracts of Proceedings of the Virginia Company of London, vol. I, p. 12.

* Letter of Governor and Council, January, 1621-22, Neill's Virginia Company of London, p. 284.

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tices, was sent to Virginia hj the East India Company, which had undertaken to establish an English free school at Charles City. These mechanics were placed among the tenants on the college lands, and in a short time four of them perished from the effect of the change of climate. ^

The necessity of importing mechanics belonging to a variety of trades did not cease with the existence of the Company. In 1638, many years after the dissolution of that organization, when a levy of tobacco was raised for the purpose of erecting a State House at Jamestown and putting the fort at Point Comfort in good repair, George Menefie, a prominent merchant in the Colony, was in- structed to visit England, and, with a part of the tobacco procured by the levy, engage men who were skilful in building such work.^ It was one of the most serious drawbacks attending the employment of the indented servant, that, save in the case of youths, the term was too brief to admit of education in a mechanical trade. Landowners of wealth sought to overcome this difficulty by instructing their English merchants to forward to Vir- ginia the mechanics whom they needed. Colonel Byrd not infrequently directed his correspondents in England to send him a carpenter, mason, or bricklayer, to take the place of one whose term was rapidly drawing to a close, and he always expressed a willingness under these cir- cumstances to pay a larger sum than was usual in the instance of the ordinary servant.^ Fitzhugh made similar requests of his English merchants, declaring, like Colonel Byrd, his readiness to go to extraordinary expense to ob- tain English mechanics, on the ground that he lost heavily

1 Neill's Vircjinia Company of London, pp. 309, 374.

2 These instructions will be found in British State Papers, Colonial, vol. X, No. 5.

3 Letters of William Byrd, Feb. 25, 1G83 ; May 31, 1G80.

404 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

in employing the tradesmen who were to be obtained in the Colony. 1

The indentures which the planters and these imported mechanics entered into doubtless differed from each other in some details, although substantially alike. The agree- ment by which the services of Gerrard Hawthorne were secured was probably a typical one in its principal features. Hawthorne bound himself by covenant to serve Thomas Vause in Virginia for a period of three years, in consider- ation of which Vause agreed to pay the charges for the transportation of Hawthorne to the Colony, and to allow him after his arrival there sufficient food, lodging, and clothing ; to provide him with tools for working in the combined trades of carpenter, joiner, and cooper ; and at no time to make an assignment of him to other persons without his own consent. On the expiration of his term, Vause was required to make over to him a full title to the bedding, furniture, and tools which had been in his use in the course of his service, and also to convey to him a tract of land equal to fifty acres in area. Moreover, for the length of twelve months succeeding the close of his period of service, Vause agreed to continue to supply Hawthorne with food, shelter, apparel, and all other necessaries. ^ The

1 Letters of William Fitzhugh, June 7, 1681. In 1673, a carpenter, who was under articles of indenture to Samuel Trevillian of York County, was valued at eighteen pounds sterling. See Records of York County, vol. 1671-1694, p. 59, Va. State Library.

2 Records of York County, vol. 1638-1648, p. 366, Va. State Library. The length of the terms for which these imported mechanics were en- gaged varied widely in different cases. John Graves of Brackley, North- amptonshire, entered into a contract with Richard Kitchener of York County for four years only. At the end of that time, he was to own his working tools. Graves was forty years of age. See Ibid., vol. 1694- 1702, p. 238, Va. State Library. William Birch of London bound himself to Mr. Edward Wyrly of the same city, with a view to his transportation to Virginia, for seven years. See Ihid., vol. 1657-1662, p. 356, Va. State Library.

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liberal provisions of this indenture reveal not only the great anxiety of the planters to secure English mechanics, bvit also the difficulty of obtaining them without extending tlie most powerful inducements.

The English mechanic emigrating to the Colony under indenture often brought tools with him which had been bought at tlie request of the planter in Virginia by the merchant acting as intermediary. ^ The constantly recur- ring necessity of having to supply the place of a white mechanic whose term was drawing to a close by importing a successor, must have had an important influence in causing the' planters to have their slaves instructed in trades. The county records of the seventeenth century reveal the presence of many negro mechanics in the Colony during that period, this being especially the case Avith carpenters and coopers. This was what might be expected. The slave was inferior in skill, but the ordinary mechanical needs of the plantation did not demand the liighest aptitude. The fact that the African was a ser- vant for life was an advantage covering many deficiencies; nevertheless, it is significant that large slaveholders like Colonel Byrd and Colonel Fitzhugh should have gone to the inconvenience and expense of importing English hand- icraftsmen who were skilful in the very trades in which it is certain that several of the negroes belonging to these planters had been specially trained. It shows the low esti- mate in which the planters held the knowledge of their slaves regarding the higher branches of mechanical work.^

1 LeMers of WilUam Fitzhugh, June 7, 1G81.

- Among the slaves of the first Robert Beverley was a negro carpenter valued at thirty pounds sterling (see inventory on file at Middlesex C. H.). John Carter, Jr., of Lancaster owned a negro cooper (see Records of Lancaster County, original vol. 1G90-1709, p. 24). Ralph Wormeley of Middlesex County owned both a negro cooper and a negro carpenter, each being valued at thirty-five pounds sterling {Records of Middlesex

406 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

In the class of meclianics who were serving terms under the provisions of formal indentures, there must be in- cluded the numerous orphans and indigent children who were bound out to acquire proficiency in crafts.

In 1656, it was provided that all orphans whose estates were not sufficient to meet the expense of their free educa- tion, or whose kinsmen or friends were unable to furnish them support, should be instructed in the mysteries of manual pursuits until they reached their majority. Six- teen years later, the county courts were empowered to apprentice the sons of poor men to tradesmen up to the age of twenty-one, and to bind the daughters over to em- ployment suited to their sex until their eighteenth year. The church wardens of the different parishes were di- rected to present the names of the children who were thus to be placed with a view to their training in some manual art.i

There are many instances in the county records to show that the provisions of these laws were carried into prac- tice. In 1684, Samuel Bond was apprenticed to Benjamin Brock of York, a skilful carpenter, with a view to acquir- ing a knowledge of the trade of a wheelwright and turner. His term was to continue for five years. The mutual obli- gations assumed are worthy of enumeration. Bond agreed to keep inviolate the secrets of his master ; to obey him with strictness and cheerfulness ; to inflict upon him no injury, and to warn him of impending harm if observed ; to commit no waste in using his property, and to refrain from lending any portion of it to other persons. Bond

County, original vol. 1608-1713, p. 130). In his will, Thomas Wythe of Elizabeth City County directed that his " negi'o Tom doe tann as many hides yearlely as shall be needfuU for both familys, that is, my mother's and mine." See Records of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1684-1099, p. 35, Va. State Library.

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 416 ; vol. II, p. 298.

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further agreed not to play cards or dice, or to haunt taverns, or to absent himself by day or night from his employment, or to commit fornication. The master, on the other hand, agreed to instruct his apprentice in the special art of a wheelwright or turner ; to furnish him with the quantity of meat and drink which he needed ; to sup- ply him with clothing and lodging, and to allow him wash- ing ; and finally, the master bound himself not to withdraw the apprentice from the pursuit of the trade in which he wished to become proficient, in order to compel him to take part in any branch of plantation work except the cul- tivation of maize, and only in this when the demand for his assistance was pressing. At the end of the term pre- scribed, Brock agreed to give to his former apprentice a full set of wheelwright tools, a coat made of kersey, a serge suit, a new hat, two pairs of shoes and stockings, one shirt of dowlas, and two of blue linen. ^ In the event that the master died before the expiration of the apprenticeship, Bond was to be required to serve only one-half of his time, provided the death of Brock had occurred previous to this point in the course of his term. If this was the case, Bond was to receive only the clothing which he had in his possession when the apprenticeship began. If Brock died after Bond had served more than one-half of his term, the latter was to be allowed not only the same amount of clothing as was in his possession when he came to his mas- ter, but also the full set of tools used by wheelwrights.

1 This was the common form of the English indenture for apprentices. The terms of the agreement between Bond and Brock were identical with those of the indenture given in a note in the second chapter on Servants. Beverley, referring to these provisions, states that " besides their trade and schooling, the masters are generally obliged to give them (i.e. the apprentices) at their freedom, cattle, tools or other things, to the value of 5, 6, or 10.£ according to the age of the child when bound, over and above the usual quantity of corn and clothes." Ilintort/ of Virginia, p. 209.

408 ECONOMIC HISTOllY OF VIRGINIA

It was a notable part of the obligation assumed by Brock, reference to which has been deferred until the last, that he bound himself to instruct Bond in the art of writing, and to teach him the science of arithmetic, a clause in the indenture showing the enlightened interest of the court in the welfare of the apprentice as well as their desire to pro- mote the cause of education. ^

It is not necessary to give in detail the contents of other indentures. Points of variance alone may be touched upon. In articles of agreement between Mrs. Phoebe Heale and John Keene of York, the son of the former was required to remain in the service of Keene until he reached his twenty-first birthday. Not until he was eigh- teen years of age, however, was he to begin to learn the mysteries of the trade of cooper, which was followed by Keene. Upon the attainment of his sixteenth birthday, the apprentice was to receive from his master a heifer, the increase of which was to be carefully preserved until his term of service was ended, when delivery was to be made.^

Thomas Best of Elizabeth City was assigned by his mas- ter in 1694 to a blacksmith for a period of seven years, with a view to his instruction as a smith, at the end of which time he could claim a full set of the tools used in that trade, and the amount of grain and quantity of clothing allowed by the custom of the Colony.^ In 1694,

^ Becords of York County, vol. 1684-1687, pp. 60, 61, Va. State Library. lu the articles by which Valentine Harvey, who was seven years of age, was bound as an apprentice to Daniel Wyld, the latter agreed to keep Harvey at school three or four years, provided there was a schoolmaster in the parish. See Becords of York County, vol. 1064- 1672, p. 201, Va. State Library.

2 Becords of York County, vol. 1675-1684, p. 84, Va. State Library.

3 Becords of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1684-1699, p. 30, Va. State Library. For the terms of another apprenticeship to a blacksmith, see Becords of Northampton County, original vol. 1680-1692, p. 28.

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also, a child five years of age was apprenticed in the same county for a period of sixteen j-ears. One of the duties to be performed on the part of the master was to teach his j^outhful servant so that he should be able to read a chapter in the Bible, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments. 1 Failure on the part of the master to perform his agreement subjected him to the penalty of a fine of five hundred pounds of tobacco. If he was delinquent in delivering the suit of clothing, and the grain which custom required of him, the same fine was imposed.^

If cases arose of children of the poorest classes showing vicious propensities which their parents made no effort to restrain or repress, the local courts stepped in and required them to be placed in the care of competent and industrious handicraftsmen. In 1G94, there were three children in Elizabeth City County, the offspring of a woman of bad character, who had become notorious for their criminal conduct, the more remarkable as they were still very young. They were inveterate thieves, finding a refuge in the recesses of the woods. One of the three was a girl. The court placed her in the service of a planter and his wife who resided in the county, requiring them to provide her with food, clothing, and lodging and also to instruct her sufficiently to enable her to read a chapter in the Bible, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments. One of the two remaining children was bound at first to a merchant, but on his requesting that he should be transferred to a shoemaker, the court con-

' Records of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1684-1699, p. .SO, Va. State Library. This was tlie usual provision of such an indenture. There is no reason to believe that it was not strictly carried out.

-Rid., p. 139; Records of York County, vol. 1690-1694, p. 144, Va. State Librarj'.

410 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

sented to conform to his wishes. ^ In some instances, when the apprentice was still of tender years, his master was compelled by the court to put him to school, if a school- master was to be found in the parish.^

The class of free mechanics in Virginia was an impor- tant one in spite of its small number. As late as 1680, it is stated that a handicraftsman was regarded by the planters with the highest esteem and courted with their utmost art. 2 That the supply of free tradesmen was unequal to the demand for their services was not to be attributed to any lack of encouragement on the part of the colonial administration. All of the early Governors received in- structions to promote the welfare of those engaged in the various mechanical pursuits, and to restrain any disposition on their part to abandon these pursuits with a view to producing tobacco. In 1621, Wyatt was directed to take steps to have young men trained as mechanics and to compel them to devote themselves to their business in preference to tobacco culture.* Ten years later, the statute 1 James I, C. 6, which relates especially to mechanics, was declared by the General Assembly to be in force in the Colony, and at the same time, an appeal was made to the Privy Council in England to encourage

1 Becords of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1684-1699, pp. .38, 42, Va. State Library.

2 Becords of York County, vol. 1664-1G72, p. 202, Va. State Library.

3 The following passage in support of this statement is from the Life of Thomas Hellier, p. 28 : " Many who were of mean education and obscure original beggars in their native soil, have by their drudging industry since their arrival in this country attained to something of estate. The gross fancies of such cloudy-pated persons will by reason of their invincible ignorance misplace their esteem on a tailor, smith, shoemaker or the like necessary handicraftsmen, courting such a one with their utmost art and skill, when a scholar shall but be condemned and happily set at nought. ' '

* Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 115.

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the emigration of tradesmen to Virginia. ^ The evil still remained that after the tradesmen arrived, they persisted in forsaking the pursuits in which they had been educated and expending their labor in the production of tobacco. So injurious were the effects of this irresistible inclina- tion, that in 1633, brickmakers, carpenters, joiners, sawyers, and turners were expressly forbidden to take part in any form of tillage and the commanders were required to en- force the regulation. To encourage the tradesmen to rely upon their business alone for a livelihood, they were to receive remuneration for the work which they had done for the different planters, out of the tobacco that under the Inspection Act of this year was to be brought to the several stores to be erected for its safe-keeping. 2 In the instructions given to Wyatt in 1638-39 and to Berkeley in 1641, all the handicraftsmen in the Colony Avere to be drawn into towns. The object of this policy Avas to remove them from temptation to plant on their own account.^

No statute passed by the Assembly during the century shows more clearly the public desire to advance the pros- perity of those engaged in mechanical pursuits, than the enactment of 1661-62, exempting tradesmen and handi- craftsmen from the payment of levies.* This provision extended to all in their employment, subject, however, to the one condition that both the master and servant should devote their time to their trades and should not be inter- ested either in or out of the Colony, directly or indirectly,

1 General Court Orders, March 6, 1631, Bobinson Transcripts, p. 97.

2 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 208.

3 Instructions to Wyatt, Colonial Entry Book, vol. 79, pp. 219-236 ; SainsJnmj Abstracts for 1638, p. 48, Va. State Library ; Instructions to Berkeley, McDonald Papers, vol. I, p. 386, § 26, Va. State Library.

* Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 85 ; see Ibid., p. 307. This was ten years later.

412 ECONOMIC HISTOilY OF VIKGINIA

in the culture of tobacco. Levies for the support of the Church were not included in the exemption. Relief of any one class in the community from taxation, however important that class might be considered, to encourage its members in their business, was an experiment which could not be carried out without imposing hardships on the indi- viduals of other classes ; this was foreseen when the law was passed, for it was ordered that the statute should only remain in operation for three years. This length of time, it was expected, would give ample opportunity to test its merits. It was suspended before the first year had ex- pired, the suspension to continue during five years, this provision having been suggested entirely by the poverty of the times. 1 It would seem that handicraftsmen at the end of this period were again exempted from the payment of levies by the revival of the same law. This is the inference to be drawn from the statute of 1672, passed ten years after the temporary revocation of the original privilege. Only youths below the age of sixteen who were really apprentices were excepted from the operation of this Act, which placed all mechanics upon the footing of the ordinary citizen in the matter of taxation, whatever usage prevailed to the contrary. ^ That it should have been necessary to pass such a law, is an indication that the artisans had previously been relieved from taxation on the ground that the interests of the community demanded that they should be especially encouraged in the pursuit of their trades.

The celebrated Act of Cohabitation, adopted in 1680, provided for the restoration of all the special privileges which in the past had been granted for the encouragement of the mechanical trades. It not only relieved the per- sons engaged in these trades, who would take up their resi- 1 Heniiig's Statutes, vol. II, p. 179. 2 /^,^Z., p. 307.

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dence in the projected towns and forego tobacco culture altogether, of the burden of the public levies, but also during a period of five years exemj)ted them in the boun- daries of their towns from personal arrest and from seizure of their goods for the payment of debts which they had at a previous time contracted elsewhere. ^ The most favor- able legislation, however, was unable to create a large and prosperous class of mechanics in Virginia, that is to say, a class of men following the trades, who earned their liveli- hood and accumulated a competence in these pursuits alone. It was natural that no body of mechanics resem- bling those to be found in England arose and flourished in the Colony. The most hostile influence was x)erhaps the lack of a metallic currency. It was stated as early as 1626, that the absence of such a currency was a serious obstruction to the advance in prosperity of the manual trades.^ A decade later, the same impediment existed to a still more discouraging degree. Harvey declared in a letter to Secretary Windebank that mechanics positively refused to follow their callings because they were com- pelled, after finishing their work, to wait for their remu- neration until the crop of tobacco for the year had been gathered in and cured. In the interval, they complained, and complained justly, that they wanted the means with which to support themselves and their families.^ To modify this condition, a law was passed prescribing that all pieces of eight should be current as equal in value to five shillings, irrespective of the metal entering into their

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 476.

2 Governor and Council to Privy Council, British State Papers, Colo- nial, vol. IV, No. 10; Sainsbury Abstracts for 1626, p. 143, Va. State Library.

3 Governor Harvey to Secretary Windebank, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. IX, No. 17 ; Sainsbury Abstracts for 1626, p. 161, Va. State Library.

414 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

composition. It was soon seen that this provision, which sought to give a fictitious value to coin intrinsically com- paratively worthless, was more calculated to injure than to promote the welfare of the tradesmen. It was, there- fore, determined that only silver pieces of eight should be accepted as worth five shillings and to pass current at that valuation.!

The influences which operated to depress the general condition of the trades remained in force down to 1700, and appeared to be just as strong at the end as in the middle of the century. The free mechanic was still com- pelled to pass from plantation to plantation in search of work, and a large part of his time was absorbed in these journeys, owing to the great distance intervening between the different estates. He was still remunerated for his services, not in coin, but in the staple of the country, which could be delivered only at one season in the year. In performing his tasks, therefore, he either expected payment to be made many months subsequently, when a crop not yet in the ground or only recently planted had been gathered in, granting that it escaped the numerous casualties to which tobacco was subject while in the hill, or he received his fee in small parcels of that com- modity, which it was both inconvenient and expensive to transport to .his own home.^ Having obtained these parcels, there was no market in which he could use them in the purchase of supplies of meal and bread. He could not always rely upon his neighbors to buy them. He was, therefore, almost forced to produce grain and breed live stock, even if he did not cultivate tobacco. This is only one of the many instances in the economic history of Virginia in the seventeenth century, of the obstructive

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 397.

2 Hartwell, Chilton, and Blair's Present State of Virginia, 1697, p. 8.

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influence exercised upon tlie material prosperity of all classes in the Colony by the enforced use of its staple crop as a substitute for coin. That commodity was not only an agricultural product, but also a currency in which every form of payment was made, public or private. It was not unnatural that many persons Avho had been trained in the mechanical arts should have preferred to obtain tobacco, not by doing mechanical work, but by tilling the ground, an impulse which was encouraged by the abundance of lands still in a condition of the highest fertility.

In the early history of Virginia, an attempt was made to establish a general tariff of rates, in conformity with which the free mechanics were to receive remuneration for their labor. Thus it was provided by the first Assem- bly, which met in 1619, that a person engaged in a mechanical pursuit should be paid according to the qual- ity of his trade, and if the amount of his wages was not prescribed by the terms of a contract, its determination was to be left to the officers of the district in which the work was performed. ^ In 1623, the rewards of mechan- ics varied from three to four pounds of tobacco a day in addition to an allowance of food.^ This was extraordi- nary, as each pound of merchantable tobacco at this time was equal in value to two and a half and even to three shillings. It is not surprising that George Sandys should have declared that the compulsory rates of wages in Vir- ginia during the period of his treasurership imposed a burden almost intolerable. Twenty years subsequent to this utterance, the scale of the remuneration received by handicraftsmen employed in the erection of Forts Charles

1 Lawes of Assembly, 1619, Colonial Becords of Virginia, State Senate Doct., Extra, 1874, p. 22.

2 Letter of George Sandys, Neill's Virginia I'e<z(s<a, p. 123.

416 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

and James was, for the work of each day, seven pounds of tobacco. The value of a pound at this time did not exceed two pence. The daily wages of these mechanics were one shilling and a few pence, perhaps equal to about one-fourth of the modern English pound sterling, no insignificant return for the industry of a few hours, even after allowance has been made for the expense incurred in transporting and selling the tobacco.^ Instances are found about the middle of the century, and they were probably not uncommon in every part of it, of the pay- ment of what was due mechanics for their labor, in the form of goods or live-stock ; thus in 1647, the court of York County instructed Joan Trotter to deliver to Edward Grimes, in return for carpentry work, one pair of shoes, a green rug, and eight poultry. ^ How large were the sums in which many of the planters became indebted to mechanics for tasks completed under terms of con- tracts is illustrated in the instance of Edward Digges, against whom John Mead, a member of that class, brought in an account amounting to three hundred and one pounds sterling, six shillings and eleven pence, representing in value perhaps as much as seven thousand five hundred dollars in our present American currency. ^ The Act passed in 1662 for the purpose of encouraging the erection of towns, fixed the wages of the carpenters to be employed in this work at thirty pounds of tobacco a day, in addition to rations of food ; brickmakers and bricklayers were to be paid for each one thousand bricks moulded and laid, while the remuneration of sawyers was to be measured by the number of feet included in the timber they supplied.*

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, pp. 293, 294.

2 accords of York County, vol. 1638-1648, p. 309, Va. State Library.

3 Palmer's Calendar of Virginia State Papers, vol. I, p. 4. * Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 172.

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A clear insight into what was considered at this time to be a just reward for the services of free mechanics may be obtained from an order of the General Court with reference to the fort at Point Comfort. The county of Nansemond was commanded to supply forty men to take part in its restoration ; Lower Norfolk was to furnish thirty, Warwick twenty-five, and Elizabeth City twenty. It is probable that only a few of them were skilful, as each ship arriving in the river was required to detail one carpenter for the work. Whatever the numerical proportion between the mechanics and ordinary laborers amongst the men im- pressed into service on this occasion, all received the same wages, amounting in each instance to twenty pounds of tobacco. 1 The carpenter of the sloop of war hired by the authorities of the Colony during the administration of Culpeper was paid monthly at the rate of one pound and fifteen shillings.^ That this was smaller than the sum generally allowed a mechanic in that situation is shown by the wages of Edward Denerell, who served in the same ca- pacity on board of the Edmond and ElizahetJi of Hampton River ; in this instance, it was fifty-five shillings a month.^

1 General Court Orders, March 29, 1G66, Bohinson Transcripts, pp. 112, 113.

■' McDonald Papers, vol. VI, p. 198, Va. State Library.

3 Records of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1684-1699, p. 437, Va. State Library. The following bill will give some notion as to the charges made by coopers and carpenters about 1655 : " Col. Yardley deb? for works done for his proper use, viz. for building a dwelling house of 20 foote square with a lodging chamber and a buttery and a chimnye, all neces- saries belonging to a dwelling house, 600 lbs. tobo ; for settinge up of six tunne of caske, the one halfe coming to me by condition, 300 lbs. ; for making too bulke heads in his sloope, 40 lbs. ; for the making of a cradle to shale corn, 90 lbs. ; mending of one cart putting a new bottoms in it and ye sides, 50 lbs. ; mending of 5 hogsheads newheaded and hooped and the making of a new hogshead, 65 lbs. ; making of one newe churne, 60 lbs. ; making of two newe milking pailes and a paile for ye sloope, 75 lbs.; for ye hooping of 4 Duty anchors and making new coverlids, 48 lbs. ; for the

418 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

While it would be erroneous to say that as a general class the free mechanics of Virginia in the seventeenth century enjoyed even a moderate degree of prosperity from the mere pursuit of their trades, there are nevertheless many evidences that numerous individuals belonging to this class were men in possession of considerable wealth, derived, there is reason to think, as much from the cultiva- tion of tobacco on their own account, as from the accumula- tion of the proceeds of their mechanical work in the service of their neighbors.^ The trade of the blacksmith was perhaps the least remunerative of all the callings of that general character, since, the roads being level and free from stones, it was the habit of the planters to allow their horses to go unshod. Iron was also in that age a costly metal, and as a rule quite probably was to be found only in small quan- tities in the smithies.^ The blacksmith seems to have per- formed sometimes the functions of a silversmith ; he was also often engaged in mending guns which had been broken or injured in barrel or lock, or in restoring the temper of damaged swords.^ In 1691, a complaint was

hooping of an English hogshead and making a new coverlid unto it for a powdering tub, 30 lbs.; cutting of an English tearce in two and new hooping of them and putting new eares to them, 24 lbs.; mending of a cheese presse, 25 lbs. ; setting up two shelves of plank in the house, 10 lbs." Records of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1651-1656, f. p. 180.

1 Joseph Hollowel of Lower Norfolk County, in two deeds of convey- ance, refers to himself in one as a planter, in the other, as a carpenter. These deeds will be found together in Becords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1686-1695, f. p. 182. See, also, an instance in Ibid., original vol. 1675-1686, p. 199. Another instance is that of John Gibson of Lan- caster County, original vol. 1666-1682, pp. 340, 433.

2 The following is an enumeration of the contents of one of the black- smiths' shops belonging to Ralph Wormeley: " 1000 lbs. trash iron, 1 pr. bellowes, 1 anvil, 1 back iron, 4 great vices, 4 hand vices, screwplates, taps, files, hammers, tongs." Records of Middlesex County, original vol. 1698-1713, p. 126.

3 Records of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1684-1609, pp. 20, 152, Va.

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offered to the General Court by the commander of the militia that the men of this craft had refused to put the muskets of the soldiers in condition for use because they were to receive in return tobacco alone. ^

At times, it was found necessary to regulate the ac- counts of blacksmiths, owing to their exorbitant charges ; in reality, it is probable that they made their fees large in order to insure themselves against the fluctuations in the price of tobacco, the medium in which they were paid.^ The county records of the period show that persons in this calling were able to acquire small estates. There is an in- stance in Rappahannock County in 1671 in which a black- smith appears as a purchaser of a tract of land; in a second instance, another disposed of one part of his plantation for four thousand pounds of tobacco, and at a later time, of a second part for two thousand.^ Among the blacksmiths of York who were owners of small areas of ground were Owen Davies, James Derbyshire, and William Rice. In 168-1, Walter Binford of Lower Norfolk County purchased a tract of land covering seventy acres.* Isaac Coding, in 1677, bought a plantation of one hundred acres in Middle- sex.^ Daniel Flaher held one hundred and fifty acres in Lancaster, and Joseph Depre two hundred and sixt}'.^ In

State Library. Fitzhugh, writing to a correspondent in Bristol, whom he had instructed to purchase certain pieces of silver, directs liim to leave the plate untouched, as he had in his own service in Virginia a man who was " a singular good engraver." Letters of William Fitzhvrjh, July 21, 1698. The inventory of the Sheets personal estate included a full set of goldsmith's tools. See Records of Henrico County, original vol. 1C97-1704, p. 208.

1 Records of York County, vol. 1600-1G94, p. 141, Va. State Library.

2 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 11.

" Records of Rappahannock County, vol. 1671-1070, p. 232, Va. State Library.

* Records of Loicer Norfolk County, original vol. 1075-1686, f . p. 170.

5 Records of Middlesex County, original vol. 1673-1685, p. 109.

^ Records of Lancaster County, original vol. 1687-1700, p. 64 ; Ibid., original vol. 1606-1082, p. 222.

420 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

1653, John Williams acquired two hundred acres in North- ampton County. Charles Parker was still more prosper- ous ; at his death, he devised not only several extensive tracts of land, but also a water-mill.^

The trade of a cooper was far more profitable, the field offered for the exercise of skill being a wider one. In the account which has been given of the agricultural develop- ment of the Colony from decade to decade, the importance of this calling appears clearly from the number of regula- tions adopted by the General Assembly for its govern- ment. There were few more important articles connected with the economy of the plantation than the hogsheads in which the tobacco, when cured, was stored for shipment. It was the business of the cooper to manufacture these receptacles, an occupation in which a handsome remunera- tion was assured owing to the abundance of the work ; it is not surprising, therefore, to discover that this class of tradesmen were in possession of considerable tracts of real estate and owned many kinds of personalty. Numerous patents to public lands were obtained by them. In 1657 alone, two were issued, aggi'egating seven hundred and fifty acres. In the following year, William Strowder, a cooper, obtained a patent to five hundred acres, and in the course of the same year, Richard White, also a cooper, was one of three persons who acquired a grant to a thousand on the basis of the transportation of twenty servants.^ Additional instances derived from the same source might be offered.

In 1667, Edward Palmer, a cooper, is found in posses- sion of a plantation in York.^ About the same time, John Dangerfield, who belonged to the same calling, disposed of

1 Eecords of Northampton County, original vol. 1657-1666, orders Jan. 27, 1653 ; Ibid., original vol. 1689-1698, p. 270.

2 Va. Land Patents, vol. 1655-1664, pp. 144, 195, 283, 332.

3 Eecords of York County, vol. 1664-1672, p. 191, Va. State Library.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 421

the half interest which he held in a very large tract lying in Rappahannock.^ There are later instances in the his- tory of this county of sales and purchases of land by men in this pursuit ranging from one hundred to five hundred acres. The record of the trade in Elizabeth City County is substantially the same. In one instance in that county, a cooper paid as much as seventy pounds sterling for a tract of two hundred and fifty acres, a sum equivalent in value to nearly eighteen hundred dollars in our modern currency.^

Coopers enjoyed unusual prosperity in Lower Norfolk. Dennis Dalby, in that county, was in 1674 in possession of six hundred acres.^ In 1689, Henry Snagle owned in one body seven hundred and fifty acquired by patent. Thomas Salley is found in 1685 selling five hundred acres. In 1690, Robert Butt purchased six hundred and fifty.* Moses Prescott, Humphrey Smith, Thomas Miller, and George Ballentine were also among the members of the same call- ing who were owners of land.

The personal property bequeathed by coopers was often of considerable value measured by the accumulations of the seventeenth century. John Keene died in York County in 1693, having left to each of his three sons five head of cattle and fifteen pounds sterling ; and the same number of cattle and the same amount of money were bequeathed by him to each of his daughters.^

1 Beconls of Bappahannock County, vol. 1668-1672, p. 239, Va. State Library.

2 Becords of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1684-1699, p. 358, Va. State Library.

3 Becords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1G66-1675, p. 186.

4 Ibid., original vol. 1686-1695, f. pp. 108, 129 ; Ibid., original vol. 1675- 1686, f. p. 205.

5 Becords of York County, vol. 1C90-1694, p. 316, Va. State Library. A cooper's inventory will be found in Becords of York Cuunlj, vol. 1690- 169-4, p. 358, Va. State Library.

422 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

There are many indications that the estates of men who followed this branch of mechanics were not derived from the pursuit of their calling alone ; they were not only engaged in planting tobacco, but also in some cases in selling merchandise in the character of factors. In 1693, Messrs. Perry and Lane, who were deeply interested in the trade of Virginia, made to a cooper a consignment of goods valued at forty-two pounds sterling, representing a great variety of articles, such as ironware, spices, drugs, liquors, hats, stockings, shoes, and cloths.^

Persons engaged in the pursuit of carpentry in general combined with it the trades of wheelwright, turner, and joiner. There are numerous evidences that many of these persons were thrifty and prosperous, most probably because they were able to unite other callings with the coordinate branches of mechanics which they followed. Among the first grants recorded in the Colony was one to Richard Tree, to whom fifty acres were in 1623 assigned by patent at Jamestown. Nor was this the only case at this early period in which a tradesman of this kind secured tracts of public land either in fee simple or by lease for a long term of years. Towards the middle of the century, however, the patent books show that but few patents were obtained either by carpenters or any other handicraftsmen. ^ During many years previous to 1648, John Hewitt was the only mechanic who appeared as a patentee.^ In 1755, John Motley of Wicocomico, a carpenter, acquired a grant in Westmoreland County of six hundred acres on the basis of the transportation of twelve persons.^ Subsequent

1 Becords of York County, vol. 1690-1694, p. 361, Va. State Library.

2 Va. Land Patents, vol. 1623-1643, Tree, p. 19. For other instances, see Ihid., pp. 11, 98. Thomas Passmore, a carpenter, also held property in Jamestown. See Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. I, p. 89.

3 Va. Land Patents, 1643-1651, p. 1-38. •i Ihid., 1652-1G55, p. 349.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 423

instances, in which patents to tracts of considerable extent were secured by persons in this pursuit, might be given.

Still more numerous were the private conveyances in which a carpenter was either the grantor or the grantee. Only the most important can be mentioned. In 1669, John Waggener purchased a large tract in Rappahannock County in consideration of fifty-five hundred pounds of tobacco, and in a short time he transferred the property to Henry Lucas, who was a member of the same calling. John Williams of the same county was the owner of eigh- teen hundred acres.^ The most prominent and prosperous of all the carpenters of Rappahannock was Thomas Madi- son, whose name appears with great frequency in the records as a seller or purchaser of land ;^ at his death, he had to his credit in England seventy pounds sterling, a proof that the means which he had accumulated had been gained, at least in part, by shipments of tobacco to the mother country .^

John Ladd of Lower Norfolk in 1672 disposed of four hundred acres, and, a few years later, Mathew Causwell of the same county, of two hundred. In 1685, Robert Cartwright became the purchaser of five hundred acres.

In the succeeding decade, Augustin Whiddon bequeathed several large tracts to members of his family.* Thomas

1 Becords of Bappahannock County, vol. 1668-1672, pp. 141, 142. See, also, Ihid., pp. 59, 81, 143 ; Williams, IbitU vol. 1656-1664, p. 88 ; also vol. 1656-1664, p. 124 ; vol. 1680-1688, p. 95 ; vol. 1677-1682, pp. 146, 364, Va. State Library.

^ Ihid., vol. 1668-1672, pp. 48, 59, 215, Va. State Library; Ibid., original vol. 1656-1664, p. 149.

'^ Ibid., vol. 1664-1673, p. 78, Va. State Library. Madison is sometimes referred to as "ship carpenter."

^ Becords of Lower Norfolk County, Ladd, original vol. 1666-1675, p. 121 ; Causwell, original vol. 1675-1686, f. p. 181 ; Cartwright, Ibid., f. p. 205; Whiddon, original vol. 1686-1695, f. p. 190. See, also. Ibid., original vol. 1051-1656, f. p. 133 ; original vol. 1095-1703, p. 80 ; original vol. 1686-1095, f. pp. 87, 116, 104; original vol. 1666-1675, pp. 148, 167,

424 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

Smith, a carpenter of York, on one occasion bought several hundred acres of Joseph Croshaw.^ On another, WiUiam Foster of Northampton sold fifteen Imndred,^ and Robert Wilson of Accomac, twelve hundred.^

Powers of attorney to persons who resided at a great distance from the grantors, entry of which in the county records so often occurs in the case of carpenters, indicates that many members of this calling, occasionally at least, traded in tobacco, for such powers were not always con- ferred for the collection of what was due them for mechan- ical work. That men of this craft belonged to a class enjoying unusual advantages is shown by the fact that many could sign their names, an accomplishment which was by no means general at that day.*

A full set of the tools used by carpenters probably averaged about one pound sterling and ten shillings in value ; the appraisement of a combined set of carpenter's, cooper's, and joiner's tools amounted in many cases to four pounds sterling.^ The number and variety owned by some members of these trades at this time would seem to show that they not uncommonly retained several appren- tices and servants in their employment, and that they were often in a position to undertake contracts for building on an important scale. A single instance may be mentioned. An inventory of the personal estate of Mr. John Cumber

182. The inventory of a carpenter's personal estate in this county will be found in original vol. 1051-1656, f. p. 205.

1 Becords of York Connty, vol. 1057-1662, p. 193, Va. State Library.

2 Becords of Northampton County, original vol. 1608-1686, p. 1.

^ Becords of Accomac County, original vol. 1076-1090, p. 9. See, also, Becords of Middlesex Connty, original vol. 1079-1094, pp. 82, 388 ; Becords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1687-1700, pp. 10, 70.

* Becords of Bappahannock County, vol. 1008-1672, p, 240, Va. State Library; Becords of York County, vol. 1684-1087, p. 119, Va. State Library.

® Becords of Henrico County, original vol. 1097-1704, p. 135.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 425

of Henrico was presented in court in 1679.1 It reveals the fact that his tools were at the time of his death lying at four different places in the county. It will be interest- ing to enumerate them. At Mr. Cox's, there were one jack- plane, one smoothing plane, and four small plough planes, two files, two bramble bits, one keyhole saw, a quarter-inch and a one and a half inch gouge, a half-inch and a quar- ter-inch short auger, a one-half inch and one-quarter inch heading chisel, two mortising chisels, one gimlet, one pair of compasses, one pair of piercers, two hand-irons for a turning lathe, a chalk line, two wooden gauges one-half foot square, and one tool chest.

At Mr. Radford's, there were one hand-saw, a pocket- roll, a jack and line, one two-inch and one half-inch auger, two smoothing and eight small narrow planes, one hold- fast, one hammer, a bench hook, four small pincer bits, a file for a hand-saw, one inch and one half-inch heading chisel, a broad turning chisel, one paring and one half-inch ordinary chisel, two gimlets, a quarter-inch gouge, and a small pincer bit, two small squares, one gauge, one bow-saw, and one pair of compasses.

At Falling Creek JNIill, there were two broad axes, three adzes, four augers, three chisels, one whip and three hand- saws, one foreplane, two hammers, one pair of compasses, one chalk line, and two files. At Mr. John Hudlesy's, there were two chisels and one small jack-plane.

In a general way, it may be said, that the equipment of the carpenter for his trade comprised hand, cross-cut, and bramble saws, half-inch augers, auger bits, chisels, claw- hammers, files, narrow and broad axes, adzes, hatchets, wedges, smoothing planes, rabbit planes, foreplanes, creas- ing and half-inch round planes, parting and turning gouges, and nail-boxes. Leather doublets doubtless formed a part

1 Becords of Henrico County, vol. 1G77-1G9-2, p. 105, Ya. State Library.

426 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

of the outfit of the carpenter as well as of the black- smith.

The shipwright was as prominent as the carpenter in the economic system of the Colony. The resources of Virginia for ship-building were recognized at the time of the earliest exploration of the country, the height, girth, and variety of the trees being one of the most remarkable features of the valleys adjacent to the streams. Smith commented on the fine quality of the timber for the con- struction of vessels, and he referred to it as a source of wealth if properly used.^ Experienced shipwrights who visited the Colony at an early period in its history, stated that nowhere in the world could more suitable material for ship-building be found than that which abounded everywhere in its forests ; ^ this fact was so well known in England by report, that it was proposed that the Eng- lish Government should draw its supply for the construc- tion of vessels entirely from Virginia, and on account of the inexhaustible quantity obtainable there, that the Eng- lish navy should be annually increased by the building of two ships of a thousand tons burden for a period of ten years. Not only would the defences of the mother country be strengthened in this way, but its small area of woods would not be further reduced.^ It was calculated that Holland and England expended one million dollars annu- ally in the purchase of ship timber.*

The first vessel of Virginian construction was built previous to 1611, and was equal in weight to twelve or

1 Works of Capt. John Smith, p. 64.

2 " Relation of the Present State of Virginia by William Perse," Neill's Virginia Carolortim, p. 60.

3 Captain Bailey's Project, Domestic Corr. James I, vol. 189, No. 36; Sainsbnry Abstracts for 1623, p. 129, Va. State Library.

* New Britain, Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 268. See original Nova Britannia, p. 16, Porce's Historical Tracts, vol. I.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 427

thirteen tons.^ In 1613, the construction of a much heavier ship was ordered at Point Comfort by Argoll, who had just returned from a voyage on the tributaries of the Chesa- peake, where he had obtained from the Indians a large cargo of grain for the use of the colonists. Leaving the vessel, which was in the course of building, in the hands of his carpenters, he made a second voyage to the Potomac. When he again arrived at Point Comfort, he pressed for- ward the building of his frigate, and upon its completion, dispatched it under the command of one of his subordinate officers to Cape Charles, where its crew were to engage in catching fish for the people at Jamestown. He also caused a fishing boat to be constructed at the Point as soon as the vessel was finished. The plank which entered into this ship and boat was obtained on the spot, the timber having been cut down and prepared by members of Argoll's company.2

It was claimed by those who condemned the manner in which the Colony's affairs were managed by Sir Thomas Smyth, that at the end of his term, about 1618, there was in Virginia only one ancient frigate, which really belonged to the Somers Isles, a shallop, a ship-boat, and two small boats which were the property of private individuals.^ This statement was emphatically denied by members of the Warwick faction, who declared, to the contrary, that in the course of this administration, barges, shallops, pin- naces, and frigates had been built, an assertion not sup- ported by the facts.* In 1620, when the new government had taken a firm hold, and were pursuing a most energetic

^ Molina's TJeport of the Voyage to Virginia, Spanish Archives, Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 520.

2 Argoll to Hawes, Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 644.

3 Discourse of the Old Company, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. Ill, No. 40 ; Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. I, p. 157.

* Ituyal Hist. MSS. C'ummissiou, Eighth lieport, Appx., p. 45.

428 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

and enlightened policy, John Wood, who, as has been previously stated, had been interested in the transportation of cattle to the Colony, petitioned the Quarter Court that he should be permitted to have the use of a certain shore on Elizabeth River, covered with fine timber, and also abutting on water sufficiently deep to allow the safe launching of vessels. He proposed to build ships for the service of the Company, and his proposal was received with sufficient favor by the latter to be recommended to the consideration of the Governor and Council in Virginia.^ These authorities are found entreating the Company in the following year to carry out the project which that body now had under advisement, of sending shipwrights to the Colony for the purpose of supplying the inhabitants with vessels of various sorts, the need of which, the Gov- ernor and Council urged, prevented the prosecution of further discovery in Virginia or the extension of trade with the Indians, or an easy passage from one settlement to another.^

Many members of the Company now consented to ad- vance a sum of money for the purpose of defraying the expense of securing and forwarding skilful workingmen. Lord Southampton and Sir Edwin Sandys contributing for this purpose two hundred pounds apiece.^ A short time after these subscriptions were obtained, in order to facilitate and hasten the labors of the shipwrights and forty carpen- ters who were to be sent out from England in the follow- ing spring, the Governor and Council in Virginia were directed by a Quarter Court to cut down many white and

1 Abstracts of Proceedings of the Virginia Company of London, vol, I, p. 88.

2 Letter from Governor and Council in Virginia, January, 1621-22, Neill's Virginia Company of London, p. 285.

^ Abstracts of Proceedings of the Virginia Company of London, vol. I, p. 141.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 429

black oaks, and in November and December to strip the bark from others then standing. The Company was under the impression that the ironworks and the saw-mills which had been erected were in full operation, and relied upon both to furnish the shipwrights with the iron and plank which would be required. If the furnaces and mills were still incomplete, then the workmen could accomplish noth- ing.i In conformity with the previous announcement. Captain Barwick and twenty-five ship-carpenters were dis- patched to Virginia in the following spring. They were to be employed only in the trade in which they had been educated.^ The band were commended to the particular care of Treasurer Sandys, who was instructed to seat them upon a tract of land containing twelve hundred acres of fine timber, and to allow them the use of four oxen for dragging the logs from the forest to the spot where they would carry on their work. Captain Barwick and his car- penters established themselves at Jamestown. At first, they were employed in erecting houses to afford shelter for themselves, and afterwards were engaged in building shallops. It was in shallops, rather than in ships, that the tobacco was transported, for the latter were too heavy in draught to make their way into the creeks. It was not long before six or seven of the carpenters had succumbed to the deadly influences of the climate. Captain Barwick also perished. This appears to have caused their mission to end in failure.^

The Company had been very solicitous for the erection of saw-mills in Virginia with a view to house and ship building ; in the Second Supply, sent to Viiginia under

1 Company's Letter, August, 1G21, Neill's Virginia Company of Lon- don, p. 239.

2 Works of Capt. John Smith, p. 571.

3 Boyal Hist. 3ISS. Commission, Eighth Report, Appx., p. 39.

430 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

the command of Newport, Poles and Dutchmen had been included for the purpose, among others, of erecting mills of this character.! In 1619, there were forwarded both men and material with the same object in view, and at a later date trained workmen were procured from Hamburg.^ No saw-mill had been erected in England previous to 1633.^ In the course of January, 1622, information was received from Virginia of an interview between a prominent citizen of that Colony and a Dutch captain who had proposed to introduce a master-w^orkman from Holland for the con- struction of saw-mills propelled by the wind. It is not stated that this project was carried out.* Wyatt was enjoined to erect mills for sawing, and in doing so, to choose sites immediately adjacent to the Falls of the Powhatan, in order that the lumber might be brought thither by means of water.^ With these facilities for obtaining planks and with a vast abundance of the finest timber, one or more ships Avere probably constructed during the treasurership of Sandys for the use of the Colony, as four at that time were in the possession of the settlers, a very small number it is true, but sufficient for the needs of the inhabitants. The number of boats built in the course of the same period is calculated to have been ten times larger than during the administration of Sir Thomas Smyth.^

It is probable that some of the most skilful boatwrights

1 Works of Capt. John Smith, p. 434.

2 Abstracts of Proceedings of the Virginia Company of London, pp. 67, 75, 84. These Dutchmen were in a short time permitted to return, the scheme having been found impracticable. See Boyal Hist. 2ISS. Com- mission, Eighth Report, Appx., p. 45.

3 Bishop's History of American Manufactures, vol. I, p. 93.

* Letter of Governor and Council in Virginia, January, 1621-22, Neill's Virginia Company of London, p. 286.

5 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 115.

6 Discourse of the Old Company, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. Ill, No. 40; Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. I, p- 159-

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 431

in the Colony perished in the great massacre of 1622. It would be inferred from a letter of George Sandys to John Ferrer, written after that terrible event, that there were few if any persons then in Virginia who could lay claim to special knowledge of ship-building. It seems that a pinnace had been driven ashore at Elizabeth City, where it was lying in the state of a wreck. Sandys instructed an agent to make an examination of her condition and to proceed Avith his men to repair the damage which she had suffered. None of these, as well as others who were ordered to give assistance, deserved, in the opinion of Sandys, the name of shipwright. As the Treasurer was a public official who commanded the best resources of the Colony in the way of handicraftsmen, it seems unlikely that he would be content to leave the restoration of the pinnace to its original state in the hands of unskilful mechanics, if it had been in his power to obtain at James- town, or at any other settlement in Virginia, men w^ho were thoroughly competent to make the repairs required, i In the interval between the revocation of the charter of the Company and the appointment of Harvey to the governorship, ship-building , in Virginia apparently fell into complete decay. In 1632, Harvey informed the Lord Commissioners in England that recently some beginning had been made in this industry in the Colony. ^ Saw- mills at least had been erected to furnish the plank. ^ This beginning must have been followed up with little energy, for only three years later, Devries, on arriving at Jamestown and discovering that his ship was in a leaky

1 See Sandys to Ferrer, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. II, No. 27 ; Sainsbnnj Abstracts fur 1623, p. 89, Va. State Library.

- Governor Harvey to Lords Commissioners, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. VI, No. 54; Sainsbury Abstracts for 1632, p. 34, Va. State Library.

^ Boyal Hist. 3ISS. Commission, Fourth Report, Appx., pp. 2P0, 291.

432 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

condition, found it necessary to sail to the New Nether- lands for repairs. It would seem that there were no facilities or appliances in Virginia for mending his vessel, so that he could not escape the expense of a long voyage. ^ It is interesting to observe that it was at this period that Peter de Licques of Picardie presented his petition to the King. The privilege which he solicited was that of pro- viding, in return for a certain remuneration, sufficient tim- ber from the forests of the Colony during a course of five years, to maintain five of the royal ships in as fine a con- dition as when they were first completed, and on the ter- mination of the five years, to build annually for the Royal Navy, one vessel of five hundred tons burden. This he was to continue to do until permission was witlidrawn.^

In the interval of fifteen years between the departure of Devries in 1632, and the middle of the century, there are many evidences that numerous barks, pinnaces, and row- boats, both large and small, were built in Virginia. This activity sprang from an absolute necessity, as the planta- tions, with a few exceptions, were situated on rivers and creeks, and could only be reached by passing from one to the other by means of th& water highway.^ No ships, however, were constructed. This was a cause of serious concern to many persons in the Colony, and as a remedy, Secretary Kemp recommended in a letter to Secretary Windebank in England, that a custom-house should be established in Virginia with a view to encouraging the building of large vessels.^ The industry required more

1 Devries' Voyages from Holland to America, p. 108.

2 Petition of Peter de Licques, British State Papers, vol. VI, No. 42 ; IIcDonald Papers, vol. II, p. 108, Va. State Library.

3 New Description of Virginia, p. 6, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. II. ^ British State Papers, Colonial, vol. IX, No. 9 ; Sainsbiiry Abstracts

for 1637, p. 154, Va. State Library.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 433

active promotion than was to be obtained through such a pLm. In the session of 1656, all ships owned exclusively by persons residing in the Colony were exempted from the payment of castle duties.^ A still more valuable exception in their favor was granted in 1659. By a law passed in the course of that year, the merchants, ship- owners, and masters engaged in the colonial trade were ordered, whenever the cargo was not destined for the English dominions in Europe, to pay upon each hogshead of tobacco a duty of ten shillings in the form of coin, bills of exchange, or commodities at an advance of twenty-five per cent on the original cost. All persons transporting their cargoes in bottoms which were the property of Vir- ginians alone, whether native or resident, were relieved from the burden of this imposition.^ It was stated in the text of the statute that one of its objects was to induce the planters to purchase an interest in vessels. It is obvious that if it had had this effect, it would also have created to some extent a tendency to build ships in Virginia. In March, 1661, fifty pounds of tobacco a ton were granted to every person in the Colony who should construct a vessel large enough to make a sea voyage.^ More detailed pro- visions were subsequently added. If the burden of the ship exceeded fifty tons but fell short of one hundred, the builder was to receive one hundred pounds of tobacco a ton, and if in excess of one hundred tons, the reward was to be two hundred pounds of tobacco a ton. These public encouragements were made conditional upon the assurance by the builder of the vessel that he would not part with his ownership until three years had passed, unless he disposed of his interest to a citizen of Virginia.*

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 402.

- Ibid., p. 537 ; also from the duty of two shillings ; see Ibid., vol. II, p. 136. 3 Ibid., vol. II, p. 122. ^ /^f,?,, p. 178.

434 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

These laws had the effect of promoting ship-building in Virginia to some extent. In 1655, Secretary Ludwell wrote to Secretary Bennett that there had been recently constructed in the Colony several small vessels which could safely make voyages along the coast, and he ex- pressed the hope that ships able to take part in tlie carry- ing trade between Virginia and England would soon be built. This hope was realized.^ In 1667, only two years subsequently to Secretary Ludwell's communication, the King in Council was petitioned by the widow of Captain Whitty, with a view of obtaining a license for the return to Jamestown of the ship America, owned by her and other Virginians, the America having been built in the Colony by her husband.^ This vessel carried thirty or forty guns, and in workmanship and appearance was so admirable an example of its class, that expectations were raised in England that the Virginians might soon become as skilful in ship-building as the English them- selves were.^ The tonnage of the America was prob- ably very moderate, if any reliance can be placed on the general statement of Berkelc}" in 1671. In answer to one of the interrogatories of the English Commissioners, sent him in the course of that year, as to the condition of the Colony, he declared that at no time had its people owned more than two vessels, and that the burden of these vessels did not exceed twenty tons. He went so far as to say that no ships, either large or small, were built in Virginia. This sweeping assertion, however, like his famous state-

1 British State Papers, Colonial Papers; Sainshimj Abstracts for 1665, p. 72, Va. State Library.

2 British State Papers, Colonial Papers, April 19, 1G67 ; Sainshunj Abstracts for 1667, p. 112, Va. State Library. A General Court order, June 6, 1666, refers to the building of a ship. See Bobinson Transcripts, p. 251. Was this the America ?

3 William and Mary College Quarterly, April, 1893, p. 198.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 435

ment as to the absence of free schools, was not supported by fact.^ For refutation, reference has only to be made to the vessel of Captain Whitty, the manner in which it was constructed liaving, as we have seen, excited ad- miration even in England. Berkeley attributed the indif- ference of the Virginians of his time to ship-building to the discouraging influences of the Navigation Acts. In the opinion of others, it was due to the absence of a school like the Newfoundland fisheries in which the colonists might have been trained in seamanship.^ It is really to be ascribed to the circumstance that there was produced in Virginia a commodity which attracted to its rivers the ves- sels, first of England and Holland, the two gi'eat maritime nations of that age, and after the passage of the last Navi- gation Act, of England alone. No necessity was imposed on them, as on the people of New England, to build nu- merous ships by means of which the products of an un- kindly soil and climate having no market in England and Holland, might be exchanged for tobacco, rum, and su- gar, commodities which in their turn might elsewhere be exchanged for clothing and other articles of use. The buyers of the only staple of Virginia sought its planta- tions. The Virginian planter did not, like the New Eng- land farmer, have to seek the foreign purchaser. It followed most naturally that even when the population and wealth of the Colony had increased to a remarkable degree, ship-building did not become an important interest. There was no lack of barges, shallops, and sloops, the only vessels which the planters required for the move- ment of their crops. Every facility was at hand for the construction of boats of this character at the time that

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 516.

2 The patentees of Southaniptou Hundred enjoyed the right to send ships to the Newfoundland fisheries.

436 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

Berkeley gave his written testimony in reply to the in- quiries of the commission. A statement is to be found in the records of York County for the year 1672, presenting in an itemized form the cost of building a sloop. The total amount was four thousand four hundred and sixty- seven pounds of tobacco, which, at the rate of two pence a pound, represented an expense, perhaps, of about nine hundred and twenty-five dollars. In the construction of this sloop, the various parts were supplied by different persons.

The plank necessary, namely, three hundred and ninety feet, was furnished by Richard Meakins, the rigging by Mr. Newell, the sail by Captain Shepherd, and the rudder irons by Mr. Williams. It seems to have required four months to complete it, the charges for the food furnished the car- penter running over that length of time ; a cask of cider was also consumed by him during the same period.^

That the desire to promote ship-building in the Colony still remained in spite of the poor results commented upon by Berkeley, appears from the Act passed in the winter of 1677, relieving the owners of a vessel built in Virginia and belonging to Virginians alone, of all duties except those imposed upon shipmasters in making entry, in clearing, and in securing license to trade, or in giving bond to sail directly to England.^ By this Act, it will be observed that it was not sufficient that the vessel should simply belong to inhabitants of the Colony. It was distinctly

1 Records of York County, vol. 1071-1694, p. 25, Va. State Library. Sloops were sufficiently large to hold as many as fifty hogsheads. See Becords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1690-1709, p. 44. A shallop probably could not with safety carry more than twelve hogsheads. See Ibid., same page. The average cost of such a boat was about twenty- two pounds sterling. Becords of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1684-1699, p. 489, Va. State Library.

2 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 387.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 437

stated that the privilege of exemption which had been enjoyed by such persons was withdrawn from them. In October of the same year, it was urged by the owners of the Planters' Adventure^ among whom was Nathaniel Bacon, Sr., all of his associates being residents of Virginia, that their ship should continue to be exempt from the castle duty and the duty of two shillings a hogshead, as it would be unjust to apply the repeal of the provision to vessels which had for many years enjoyed its benefit.^

So active as well as so judicious were the steps now taken in Virginia to encourage the building of ships, that the apprehensions of the English Government were aroused. In 1680, Culpeper was ordered to annul the laws exempt- ing the Virginian owners of vessels constructed in the Colony from the payment of duty on exported tobacco, to- gether witli the duty imposed upon incoming ships for the maintenance of the fort.^ The ground upon which this command was based was the injustice of granting special privileges to shipowners in Virginia which were not enjo3-ed by owners of English vessels trading in Virginian waters. INIoreover, the encouragement held out by the Virginian laws to Virginian ship-builders, would, in the judgment of the English authorities, impair the success of the Navigation Acts by creating a Virginian fleet which would be able to transport the tobacco to the mother country without the assistance of English vessels. It would also, it was said at a later date, tempt the owners of

1 Order of General Assembly, British State Papers, Colonial Papers ; Saiusbury Abstracts for 1677, p. 68, Va. State Library. This petition was carried to the Committee for Trade and Plantations, but was denied. Colonial Entry Book, No. 106, p. 305 ; Sainsbury Abstracts for 1681, p. 121, Va. State Library.

2 Letter from Privy Council to Culpeper, Oct. 14, 1680, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. Ixxx ; McDonald Papers, vol. V, p. oO-i, Va. State Library.

438 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

English ships to enter them as belonging to Virginians.^ The order in council condemning these laws showed rather premature apprehension, since John Page and others, in a petition presented by them to Lord Culpeper in 1681, stated that there were but two ships in the Colony which were owned by citizens of Virginia and had been built in its confines.^ The English Government apparently did not oppose the construction in the Colony of sea-going ves- sels, provided that their cargoes were made subject to the usual duties.^ In 1697, ships were constructed in Virginia by Bristol merchants who were influenced to build there by a consideration not only of the fine quality of the tim- ber, but also of the comparatively small cost entailed in the performance of the work.*

In the course of the same decade, several vessels were built by Virginians for their own use. Among them was a ship of forty-five tons, constructed for John West of Accomac, which was staunch enough to make a sea voy- age.^ John Goddin of the same county also built a vessel,

1 Minute of a Committee for Trade and Plantations, British State Papers, Colonial Entry Book, No. 100, p. 305 ; Sainslniry Abstracts for 1681, p. 121, Va. State Library.

2 These petitioners meant entirely owned. See petition of the elder Nathaniel Bacon et al., British State Papers, Colonial Papers; Sains- bury Abstracts for 1681, p. 122, Va. State Library.

3 Minutes of a Committee for Trade, British State Papers, Colonial Entry Book, No. 106; Sainsbury Abstracts for 1681, p. 121, Va. State Library.

4 Hartwell, Chilton, and Blair's Present State of Virginia, 1G97, p. 4. There is preserved in the records of York County (vol. 1694-1702, p. 272, Va. State Library), a document, to -which Philip Popplestone, merchant, Charles Harford, linen draper, Edward Harford and James Peters, soap makers, all of Bristol, were parties, appointing William Jones, of that city, master of a ship in which the signers of the document "were or were to be part owners," the ship having been "built or to be built in Virginia."

^ Records of Accomac County, original vol. 1G90-1G9G, f. p. 121.

MAKUFACTUEED SUPPLIES 439

which was twenty-five tons in burden.^ In 1695, a ship known as the Virginian was constructed by Daniel Parke, but on its first passage to England was found to be defec- tive in its steerage.2

Among the principal shipwrights in Virginia in the seventeenth century were John Meredith, John and Robert Pritchard of Lancaster, Abraham Elliott, Richard Yates, and John Ealfridge of Lower Norfolk. Meredith was in possession of large tracts of land which he had acquired by purchase or by original grant.-^ The estate of John Pritch- ard was appraised at four hundred and eighty-two pounds sterling, exclusive of all tobacco due him. This last item amounted to 101,307 pounds."^ Ealfridge devised a planta- tion to each of his two sons.^ The estate of Richard Yates was valuable in personal and real property alike. Elliott was an owner of lands both in Virginia and England.^

1 Bandolph 31 88., vol. Ill, p. 304.

2 Becords of York County, vol. 1694-1702, p. 228, Va. State Library.

3 For one tract, 560 acres, obtained by patent, see Becords of Lan- caster County, original vol. 1652-1657, p. 134. A sale of 600 acres by Meredith is recorded in Ibid., original vol. 1655-1702, p. 19. In 1652, he contracts to build a sloop and a small boat in payment of a debt, due by him, for 47,632 lbs. of tobacco. See Ibid., original vol. 1652-1657, p. 25.

* Becords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1690-1709, p. 19.

* Becords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1675-1686, f. pp. 16, 50. Ealfridge was also at one time in possession of a half interest in a mill ; see Ibid., original vol. 1666-1675, p. 170.

6 Becords of Loicer Norfolk County, original vol. 1666-1675, p. 9. Among other shipwrights residing in Lower Norfolk County, who were owners of land, were Nicholas Wise, John Creekman, Isaac Seaborne, John Tucker, Quintillian Gutterick, Roger Houseden, Edward Wilder ; in Rappahannock, Simon Miller, who, on one occasion, bought 625 acres in one tract (Becords of Bappahannock County, 1668-1672, p. 139, Va. State Library), John Griffin ; in Lancaster, William Edwards ; in Northampton, AV alter Price, Christopher Stribliug ; and in Elizabeth City, George and Jacob Walker.

CHAPTER XVIII

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES: DOMESTIC — continued

It was in glass-making that the first step was taken in Virginia to promote manufactures in the wider sense of the word. The explanation of this fact lay in the neces- sity of providing a large quantity of beads for the use of the settlers in their trade with the Indian natives. There was doubtless a subordinate expectation that Vir- ginia might be able to export raw glass for the English market. One of the most serious obstructions in England to all forms of manufacture involving the consumption of much fuel, was the growing scarcity of wood in conse- quence of the heavy inroads on the forests. This was felt most severely in the manufacture of iron, but it was also felt in glass-making. The abundance of trees in Vir- ginia was thought to be a notable element of success in the manufacture of this latter commodity in the Colony. When Newport arrived in Virginia in the fall of 1608,^ he was accompanied by a number of Dutch and Poles, who formed a part of the Second Supply, the object for which they had been sent out being, among other things, to make a trial of glass. A glass-house was accordingly erected about a mile from Jamestown.^ The first material of this kind was made during the absence of Newport on his excursion into the country of the Monocans, and it was made under the supervision of Smith ; when New-

1 Works of Capt. John Smith, p. 434. 2 jjji^^ p. 407.

440

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 441

port returned to England, he carried with him as a portion of his cargo, the specimens of ghiss which had been thus produced.^ In the spring of 1609, the manufacture was continued with success.^ During the memorable Starv- ing Time following on the departure of Smith from the Colony, the work which had been in progress at the glass-house must have ceased entirely. Nothing more was heard of glass manufacture in Virginia until 1621, in which year there was an effort to reestablish it on a permanent footing.

In 1621, the Company entered into a contract with Captain William Norton, who had decided to emigrate to the Colony with his family, under the terms of which he was to carry over with him four Italians skilled in glass-making, and also two servants, the expense of trans- porting these six persons to be borne by him, while the Company was to furnish their general equipment. In the course of three months after his arrival in Virginia, Nor- ton was required to erect a house for the manufacture of every variety of glass. The privilege of exclusive manu- facture was to be enjoyed by him during a period of seven years, and he was expected to give not only his personal superintendence to the work, but also to instruct appren- tices in the art of making glass. As a reward for this, he was to receive one-fifth of the moiety of the product reserved for the Company and was to be' allowed in addi- tion, four hundred acres of the public land. It was ex- pressly provided that no beads were to be retained hy Norton, for these could only be useful as a medium of exchange in the Indian trade, in whicli the Company alone had the right to engage.^

1 Works of Capt. John Smith, p. 441. 2 //>,y7., p. 471.

^ Abstracts of Proceedings of the Virginia Company of London, vol. I, p. 130.

442 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

The contract with Captain Norton was reconsidered at a Quarter Court convened at a hiter date. Attention had in the meanwhile been called to the fact that the Com- pany was at this time in no condition to undergo the heavy charge of supplying eleven persons — the number constituting the band of Captain Norton — with apparel, tools, victuals, and other necessaries, and of transporting them to Virginia. It appeared, moreover, that the cal- culation of the expense in the beginning had not been sufficiently accurate. It was decided to recommend the proposed manufacture to private subscribers, the Com- pany, however, to advance one-fourth of the amount re- quired to set the enterprise on a firm basis. The patent to be granted was to continue in force for a period of seven years, and was to include the right to make not only glass but also soda, as a necessar}'^ ingredient of that substance. Fifty acres were to be allowed for every per- son sent over by the private adventurers. A roll was drawn at the same court at which the proposition was broached, and received the signatures of the proposed in- vestors.^ Having b}^ this means secured the fund needed for the equipment of himself and his followers for the enterprise in which they were to engage, and to meet the charges for the ocean passage, Captain Norton, his family, and workingmen set sail for Virginia. There lie succeeded in erecting a glass furnace. Unfortunately, Norton died, and the Treasurer, Sandys, who had been appointed to take his place in that event,^ came in charge of the works but soon met with disappointment, as he found it difficult to obtain the proper variety of sand. On one occasion, he sent a shallop to the Falls for a supply,

1 Abstracts of Proceedings of the Virrjinia Company of London, vol. I, p. 138.

- Neill's Virginia Company of London, p. 236.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 443

but none adapted to his purpose was found there. He was successful in obtaining the kind which he required from the banks at Cape Henry, but its qualit}^ proved so unsatisfactory that Sandys wrote to Ferrer in Eng- hviid requesting him to forward two or three hogsheads of the proper material.^ The difficulty did not lie only in securing the sand. The Italian workmen employed in the glass-house were wholly intractable ; Sandys, in the violence of his anger and disgust, went so far as to say " that a more damned crew hell never vomited," a char- acter which their actions justified his attributing to them.^ The Italians were anxious to return to Europe, and in order to effect their release, not only proceeded so slowly in their work as to accomplish nothing of consequence, but cracked the furnace by striking it with a crowbaro Their studied efforts to obtain permission to leave the country by breaking up the industry in which they were engaged ended in failure, for among those who were enumerated in the census of 1624-25 as residing on the Treasurer's lands, were Bernardo and Vicenso, two of the four Italians who had come out with Norton in 1(321.^

There is no positive evidence to show for how great a leno'th of time the sflass-house remained in existence

1 Sandys to Ferrer, April 8, 1623, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. II, No. 27 ; Sainsbury Abstracts for 1623, p. 90, Va. State Library.

2 George Sandys to Ferrer, Boyal Hist. MSS. Commission, Eighth Report, Appx., 39.

^ Muster of tlie Inhabitants of Virginia, 1624-2-5, Hotten's Original Lists of Emigrants, 1600-1700, p. 235. At the time the census of 1623 "was taken there were five persons living at the glass-house. British State Papers, Colonial, vol. Ill, No. 2 ; Colonial Becords of Virginia, State Senate Doct., Extra, 1874, p. 47. Governor Butler, who arrived in Vir- ginia not long after the massacre took place, states that at the time of his visit the glass furnace was "at a stay and in small hopes." See his Unmasking of Virginia, Absti'acts of Proceedings of the Virginia Com- pany of London, vol. II, p. 172.

444 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

after the massacre. The land upon which it was sit- uated was conveyed during Governor Harvey's adminis- tration to Anthony Coleman. By the heirs of Coleman, it was assigned to John Senior; from Senior it passed first to John Pitchett, then to John Phipps and William Harris. Phipps having conveyed his interest to Harris, Harris in turn conveyed the tract to Colonel Francis Mor- rison. This was done in September, 1655. ^

One of the strongest motives that led to the coloniza- tion of Virginia by the English was the expectation that it would supj)ly the mother country with a vast quantity of raw iron. The demand for manufactured iron was rapidly increasing in England, and yet the ability of the English furnaces to meet this demand was declining on account of the diminishing quantity of fuel furnished by the local forests. It was entirely just that the English people should look forward to the day when they might be forced to rely on foreign nations for their supply of a material which was coming rapidly into greater use each year.2 In 1740, it is calculated that England and Wales together produced only seventeen thousand tons ; ten years later, five thousand represented the increase.^ In 1621, the price of a ton of iron was about ten or twelve pounds sterling, equivalent in purchasing power to two hundred and fifty dollars.^ Virginia was expected not only to relieve England of its dangerous and uncertain depend- ence upon foreign nations for its supply of raw iron, but

1 Va. Land Patents, vol. 1652-1655, p. 367.

2 Rogers' History of Agriculture and Prices in England, vol. V, p. 479.

3 Bishop's History of American Manufactures, vol. I, p. 21.

* In 1630-31 the price was forty-two shillings a hundred- weight. In the interval between 1671 and 1692, it was thirty-six shillings and two pence. In 1697, it was thirty-five shillings and eight pence. The average cost of a ton was £37 18s. lid. See Rogers' History of Agriculture and Prices in England, vol. V, p. 482.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 445

also to furnish that commodity at a cheap rate, owing to the abundance of wood that could be used as fuel in the manufacture.^ These anticipations were justified b}^ the numerous indications of the presence of iron ore observed by the earliest settlers. Smith, whose mind was always directed to the practical and sober aspects of his surround- ings, was among the first to call attention to the adapta- bility of the new country to iron manufacture as one of the most promising of its sources of wealth, and in order to show the substantial ground on which his expectations were based, he forwarded to England during his presidency two barrels of stones rich in tracings of iron ore.^ In 1609, Captain Newport transported a large quantity of the same kind of ore to the mother country on his return in the course of that year. So excellent was the metal extracted from it, amounting to sixteen or seventeen tons, that it was purchased by the East India Company, according to whose statement it proved more satisfactory than any iron, procured from other countries, which they had as yet used.3 The metal was sold to that Corporation at the rate of four pounds sterling a ton.

The earliest attempt to manufacture iron in Virginia, if reliance can be placed on the testimony of Don Maguel, a Spanish witness, was made previous to 1610. Already in the course of the first three years following the founda- tion of the settlement at Jamestown, machinery had been erected by the English settlers to work the iron mines.*

1 It was stated in the Instructions to Governor "Wyatt, 1621, that the iron works then in the course of erection were "the greatest hope and expectation of the Colony." Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 110.

2 Works of Capt. John Smith, p. 444.

3 Strachey's Historie of Travaile in Virginia, p. 132.

* Keport of Francis Maguel, IGIO, Spanish Archives, Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 398. The existence of iron ore near the Falls was, it is to be inferred from a passage in Strachey, known to Dale :

446 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

The adventurers of Soutliampton Hundred were perhaps the first who undertook to manufacture iron in the Colony in a systematic way. The circumstances in which this attempt had its origin were peculiar. In 1619, some un- known person contributed five hundred and fifty pounds sterling for the conversion of Indian children living in the Colony, and this large sum was deposited in the hands of the Company to be used for the prescribed purpose in the manner which seemed to be most advisable. That body after some deliberation decided to place the money with the adventurers of Southampton and Martin's Hundreds, in order that the wishes of the anonymous benefactor might be carried out, relieving itself thus of the burden of a very troublesome and perplexing trust. The adventurers of Martin's Hundred, however, were too shrewd to under- take the difficult and thankless task ; they declined to accept their share of the benefaction, on the ostensible ground that their property in Virginia was in a state of so much confusion as to render it impossible for them to expend the fund in the manner desired. The adventurers of Southampton Hundred were as anxious as the Company to evade the trust, but being destitute of a plausible excuse such as that of the adventurers of Martin's Hundred, they expressed their willingness to add one hundred pounds to the gift on condition of not being required to assume the proposed responsibility. Their offer was not accepted, although to that extent the conversion of Indian children would have been facilitated. At a meeting held shortly afterwards, the adventurers of Southampton Hundred

"At the head of the Falls (in the Powhatan) ... on Pembroke side (i.e. the southern side), Sir Thomas Dale hath mentioned in his letters to the Lordships of the Counsaile of a goodlye iron mine." See Historie of Travails into Virginia, p. 132. Was this "goodlye mine" the one that was afterwards opened on Falling Creek, a stream situated some miles below the Falls ?

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 447

determined to conform to the wishes of the Company, but in a manner somewhat different from what was an- ticipated by the unknown Indian benefactor. Instead of deciding to use the money directly for the benefit of Indian children, they concluded to increase the amount by adding to it a large sum out of their own purse, and to employ the whole in establishing iron works in Virginia, the profits of which, ratably to the benefaction, were to be expended in instructing thirty Indian children in the doctrines of the Christian Church. Two purposes would be thus accomplished, one of which would promote the economic welfare of the colonists, and the other elevate the moral condition of the heathen.^ A letter was ad- dressed to Yeardley, who was not only Governor of Vir- ginia, but also Captain of Southampton Hundred, in which he was urged to show the utmost care and industry iu setting the projected works on foot, as upon these works were fixed the " eyes of God, Angels, and men." Captain Blewit was dispatched to the Colony to superintend the manufacture of iron, but, like so many others who went out to Virginia at this early period, he succumbed to disease soon after his arrival. This had the effect of obstructing the proposed industry for a time.^ He had been accompanied by eighty men. After the death of Blewit, Mr. John Berkeley, with twenty experienced iron workers, came to Virginia to reinforce the survivors of the original band. These additional workmen had been obtained by Berkeley on condition that the Company would assume tlie expense of transporting himself, his son and his three servants. The cost of sending over the workmen was also defrayed by that Corporation, and they

1 Ab.^tracts of Proceedings of the Virginia Company of London, vol. I, pp. lG2-l(i-4.

2 Ibid., p. 1G4.

448 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

were to be supported at its charge for a period of twelve months and to remain in its service for the term of seven years.i The original purpose was to establish three iron works,^ but only one furnace appears to have been erected, its site being on Falling Creek, in the present county of Chesterfield.

It is interesting to find that this spot as a place for iron-making had already been regarded with great enthu- siasm by George Sandys, who declared that if Nature had intentionally prepared it with a view to this special manufacture, the advantages for that purpose which it possessed could not have been more remarkable. In expressing this opinion, he had in mind the circumstance that there were present in proximity here not only ore and water, but wood, and stones with which to construct the furnace.^ A mine was opened and a successful effort made to work it. The men employed were provided with food and clothing by the Company, whilst the adventurers of Southampton Hundred allowed them the use of five kine.'^ The cost of setting up the iron works was in 1621 calculated by Sir Edwin Sandys to be four thousand pounds,'^ but it is stated by other authorities to have been as much as five thousand.^ According to the as- sertion of the enemies of the Southampton administration, the only practical return which the Company obtained for this enormous outlay was an iron shovel, a pair of tongs,

1 Abstracts of Proceedings of the Virginia Company of London, vol. I, p. 123.

^ Ibid., p. 67.

" Relation of Waterhonse, Neill's Virginia Company of London, p. 338.

* Company's Letter to Governor and Council of Virginia, Neill's Virginia Comjmny of London, p. 310.

^ Abstracts of Proceedings of the Virginia Company of London, vol. I, p. 122.

^ Ibid., vol. II, p. 148.

MANUFACTUllED SUPPLIES 449

and a bar of iron.^ To such a point of perfection, how- ever, had the works been brought by this expenditure of money, that in 1622, it was confidently anticipated by those in charge that in three months they would be in a position to forward large quantities of raw iron to England. Very soon, however, the massacre by the In- dians brought destruction to the little settlement on Falling Creek. The tools were destroyed or thrown into the river by the savages,^ and the workmen, with the exception of a boy and girl, were killed.

The attack upon the iron works at Falling Creek and its results, disheartening as they were, did not at the moment diminish the interest in that undertaking felt both by the Company in England and by the colonial authorities. But for the revocation of the charter of the former, it is highly probable that the works would have been restored and the manufacture of iron resumed. After receiving information of the massacre, the Company instructed the Governor and Council in Virginia to place the men surviving, who had been connected with the iron works, in charge of Mr. JNIaurice Berkeley, to be employed by him elsewhere until the works could be set in operation. In the meanwhile, a note of what tools would be needed when the manufacture began the second time was to be transmitted to England. The Company declared that it would know no quiet until the works were again perfected, since they regarded them as abso-

1 Bandolph 3ISS., p. 212.

2 Letter of General Assembly in Reply to the King, March 26, 1G28, British State Papers, Colonial Papers, vol. IV, No. 45; Sainsbiiry Abstracts for 1628, p. 178, Va. State Library. Among tlie most inter- esting relics preserved in the building of the Virginia Historical Society at Kichmond is some of the slag produced in the Falling Creelv furnace. It was picked up on the ground nearly two and a half centuries af ler the destruction of the works.

450 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

lately necessary to the prosperity of the Colony.^ The colonial officers showed great willingness to respond to this spirit, and seem to have taken some steps looking to the restoration of the furnace.

Five years after the massacre, William Capps, who had a few years before been in correspondence with the War- wick faction among the members of the Company, being at that time a resident of the Colony, was sent by the King to Virginia with a general commission to establish a number of industries, including the manufacture of iron.2 The Governor and Council expressed the utmost readiness to give Capps all the assistance in their power, but he became involved in trouble very soon, and before he could put any of his plans in operation, was forced to leave the country.^ A proposition was made to the King in 1628 to incorporate a number of persons residing in England, whose names were subscribed, with special privileges for manufacturing iron in Virginia. They petitioned for the exclusive right, during fourteen years, of producing that commodity in the Colony, and also sought exemption from customs, subsidies, and other duties in importing it into England. There is no evidence that this charter was granted, but the desire to obtain it indicates that the demand for iron in the mother country

1 Company's Letter to Governor and Council in Virginia, 1622, Neill's Virginia Company of London, p. 329. In a letter from tlie Company, dated Aug. 6, 1623, they state that they send over nine men to make iron by a " blomery." These men v?ere to be assisted by private persons, who were to receive shares in their profit. If such persons declined to take any part in it, the tenants of the Company were to be required to give aid. The iron workers were to be seated at Martin's Hundred, or "some commodious place." Bandolph 3ISS., vol. Ill, p. 174.

■^ King to Governor and Council of Virginia, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. IV, No. 32; Sainsbury Abstracts for 162 7, p. 164, Va. State Library.

3 Examinations taken Nov. 2, 1629, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. V, No. 32 ; Sainsbury Abstracts for 1629, p. 209, Va. State Library.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 451

had directed the attention of many enterprising English- men to Virginia as a place where that material could be manufactured at a profitable rate. In the same year, probably in reply to an inquiry from the English Govern- ment, the Governor and Council state that they had recently sent ore to England, presumably from Falling Creek, declaring at the same time, that the cost of restor- ing the works and importing operatives was too great to be assumed by the Colony. ^

In 1630, Governor Harvey made a journey to the site of the old iron Avorks on Falling Creek, with a view to discovering whether they could be restored. He found the spot surrounded by a heavy growth of timber sufficient to supply an abundance of fuel. There was a bold stream near by, from which water could be procured; and also a large bed of freestone and numerous outcroppings of iron ore. As a result of the impressions received on this visit, he wrote to the authorities in England that all the conditions of the locality were favorable to the reestablishment of the works ; he sent over at the same time two specimens of ore, one of which he had obtained from the valley of the Upper James, probably near the Falls of the river, the other from the valley of the Lower. A few years later, Sir John Zouch and his son seem to have taken steps to establish iron works in Virginia,^ but the project collapsed on account of the failure of their partners to come to their assistance.^ The cost of reviving

1 Britii^h State Papers, Colonial, vol. IV, No. 45 ; Sainshury Abstracts for 1628, p. 178, Va. State Library.

■^ Governor Harvey to Dorchester, Two Letters, British State Papers, Colonial, Xo. V, April 15, 16:30; May 29, 1030; McDonald Papers, vol. II, pp. .32, 45, Va. State Library.

^Randolph MSS., vol. Ill, p. 2-32. Sir John stated in his will that his sou "had lost two hundred and fifty pounds in the iron works and as much more of my own." William and Mary College Quarterly for April, 1893, p. 196.

452 ECONOMIC HISTOliy OF VIRGINIA

the manufacture of iron in the Colony was so great that practical interest in it died out for a period of many years.

The author of the New Description! of Virginia^ published in 1649, recognized the possibilities of iron manufacture in the Colony. He dwelt at length on the number of the streams there to furnish water for the works, tlie amount of the wood to supply fuel, the quantity of stone suitable for the construction of furnaces, and the abundance of ore. He declared that works of this kind would be as valuable as a silver mine, since their product could be used not only for plantation purposes but also in building ships, casting ordnance, and making armor and muskets. There were many laborers in Virginia whose services could be easily secured, and it would entail but a small cost to provide for them, since food was plenti- ful. He stated that it would require only six months to erect the works, and that the charge for importing skilled men and the necessary tools ought not to exceed four hun- dred pounds sterling. The expensiveness of iron manu- facture in the Colony appears from the suggestion of the author of the New Description of Virginia, that the under- takers of a new enterprise, with this object in view, should give their workmen one-half of the annual product, instead of paying them definite wages, in case of a successful issue to their operations ; the scheme would thus be carried out on the cooperative principle, probably the first instance in colonial history in which it was proposed that this principle should be given a practical test.^

In 1657-58, a law was passed by the General Assembly, j prohibiting the exportation of iron, in addition to hides j and wool.2 This was expressly intended to apply to old , iion only .2 The object of the law, so far as that com- j

1 New Description of Virginia, p. 5, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. 11.

2 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 488. » /5j(^.^ p. 525.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 453

modity was concerned, was to promote the blacksmith's trade, but as it did not accomplish this among the other purposes for which it was designed, it was in 1658-59 repealed. In 1661-62, it was again enacted, onl}^ to be repealed a second time in 1671.1 There is no indication of the manufacture of iron in Virginia in the period between the first enactment and the last repeal of this statute ; in the interval, Berkeley had been instructed to report on the feasibility of establishing iron works in the Colony, the King having expressed a determination to erect these works at his own expense if the ore justified the great outlc\y necessary.^ Berkeley in his reply dis- couraged the project on the ground that the quantity of iron ore in Virginia was not sufficient to keep one mill going for seven years.^ Clayton, during his visit to the Colony, inquired into the practicability of carrying on iron manufacture there, and his conclusions were adverse to the undertaking. No one there, he wrote, had money enough to bear the expense of starting and sustaining iron works, and in view of the great distance rendering personal super- vision impossible, it would be equally impracticable for a resident of the mother country to assume the risks of the enterprise.'^ In 1682, the original law prohibiting the ex- portation of iron, among other articles, which, as has been seen, was repealed in 1671, was reenacted in the hope of giving employment to many persons who were then idle and in want of the necessaries of life. The penalty for exporting a pound of the material was fixed at ten pounds of tobacco,^ but this provision, like the original law, must

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, pp. 124, 287.

2 Instructions to Berkeley, 1662, § 7, McDonald Papers, vol. I, p. 418, Va. State Library.

3 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 514.

* Clayton's Virginia, p. 27, Force'.s Historical Tracts, vol. III. s Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 493.

454 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

have been intended to apply to iron which had been brought into Virginia, since none appears to have been manufactured at this time in the Colony. Under the Act for the establishment of ports, which was passed in 1691, but never put in operation, a duty of one penny was imposed upon every pound exported.^

Much interest was shown by planters in the closing years of the century in finding out whether the ores in Virginia were adapted to iron making. Both Fitzhugh and Byrd shipped specimens to England to be examined there. In 1689, Fitzhugh sent a considerable quantity to Mr. Boyle for this purpose.^ Byrd tested some of the lead ores by the use of a charcoal fire and a pair of hand bellows.^

As early as 1612, it was anticipated that Virginia would become an important seat of linen manufacture, owing to the adaptability of the soil to the production of flax. In this respect, it was considered superior to the soil of Eng- land. The early explorers confidently expected that in time the Colony would furnish the mother country with an abundant supply of linen, not only from the flax plant, which grew there in such profusion in a wild state, but also from the water-flag found in the marshes. This latter plant, when boiled, was found to yield an integu- ment remarkable for the strength of its texture as well as for its length. From this product was derived a material that could be used, it was said at the time, in making the finest linen. Some portions of it were adapted, it was thought, to the manufacture of a stout and durable cordage. Two hundred pounds of this stuff were im- ported into England not long after the settlement of

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. Ill, p. 63.

2 Letters of WiUinm Fitzhiuih, July 10, 1090.

3 Letters of William Byrd, May 20, 1084.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 455

Yirginia, and proved on trial to be of excellent quality both for show and use.^

In spite of the repeated instructions given by the au- tho)ities in England to the Governors of Virginia, in the long interval between 1612 and 1646, to promote the cultivation of flax, no persistent effort was made until the last year to manufacture linen in any quantity. In 1646, the General Assembly decided upon the erection of two houses at Jamestown for this purpose. They were to be built of substantial timber and were to be forty feet in length, twenty in width, and eight in pitch. The roofs were to be covered with boards properly sawed, and in the centre of each house, brick chimneys were to be placed. Each house was to be divided into rooms by convenient partitions. The different counties were respectively required to fui^nish two children, male or female, of the age of eight or seven years at least, whose parents were too poor to educate them, to be instructed in the art of carding, knitting, and spinning. In order that ample pro- vision might be made for the health and comfort of the pupils, each county was required to supply the two chil- dren whom it sent, with six barrels of Indian corn, a sow, two laying hens, linen and woollen apparel, shoes, hose, a bed, rug, blanket, two coverlets, a wooden bowl or tray, and two pewter spoons. This law, whether fully carried out or not, reveals the interest which was felt in the Colony at this time in the manufacture of linen.^

It was during this period of colonial history that Cap- tain Mathews, who resided at Blunt Point on the Lower James, was offering to the people of Virginia a notable illustration of the ease with which a planter, by skilful management of property, could procure within ihe bounds

1 New Life of Virginia, p. 14, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. I.

2 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 336.

456 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

of his own estate all the supplies needed in carrying it on, whether springing directly from the soil and used in their natural state or after undergoing the process of manu- facture. Among the numerous artificers who were found in the list of his servants and slaves, were spinners of the liax which he had produced in the cultivation of his own land.i There were probably other planters, contempora- ries of Captain Mathews, who made a similar use of the same plant obtained in a like manner, and this continued through the interval preceding 1681. In that year, we find Colonel Fitzhugh writing to Thomas Mathew and congratulating him on his progress in manufacturing linen, and expressing the hope that it would be profitable, and at the same time, commending his example to all the landowners of the Colony .2

In 1682, at the instance of Lord Culpeper, a law for the encouragement of linen and woollen manufactures was passed, on the ground advanced by the Governor, that " it might be of some use," which reveals that previous observation had not led him to be very sanguine as to any important development of these industries. ^ The pro- visions as to the manufacture of linen were very complete in detail, but thc}^ show that there was no general effort on the part of the planters to convert their flax into this material. To every person who brought flax or hemp to the court of the county in which he resided, in a condition to be placed on the spindle, two pounds of tobacco were given for every pound of flax or hemp so presented, but it must have been the product of his own land. The certifi-

1 New Description of Virginia, pp. 14, 15, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. II.

2 Letters of Willia7n Fitzhugh, July 3, 1681.

3 Instructions to Culpeper, 1081-1682. His Reply to 72d clause, Mc- Donald Papers, vol. VI, p. 171, Va. State Library.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 457

cate which he received entitled him to be paid by the General Assembly out of the public levy. If the owner of the flax or hemp manufactured it into linen cloth, he was allowed six pounds of tobacco for every ell, which was to be three-quarters of a yard in width at the least. This linen was first examined by the county court, and proof of its being of the growth and manufacture of the owner had to be offered and accepted before the regular certificate could be obtained. Every tithable was required to produce either two pounds of flax, or hemp, or one pound of each, every year, and the penalt}^ for the neglect of this regula- tion was the forfeiture of fifty pounds of tobacco. To en- sure its performance, the heads of families and the overseers of servants and slaves were directed, before the annual levy was made, to appear before the nearest justice of the peace, and give in for each tithable under him, the amount of dressed flax or hemp prescribed by law.^

The statute was to continue in force until 1685, but it was repealed before its limitation was reached, on the ground that it imposed too heavy a burden on the public, both in the quantity of tobacco paid out under its provi- sions, and in the loss resulting from the passing of that commodity through the hands of officers. It was also stated that the advantages derived by the planters from this form of manufacture would be so great that there was needed no further encouragement to ensure its continua- tion.2

The disapproval which the English Government expressed with reference to the original regulation does not seem to have influenced the General Assembly in deciding to de- clare its provisions inoperative. Whether this was the case or not, the inventories placed on record in the county courts in the period between the repeal of the law and its

iHening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 503. -Ibid., vol. Ill, p. 16.

458 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

reenactment show that there were few of the more impor- tant households in the Colony, in this interval, in which linen-stuffs were not manufactured for domestic uses. Linen-wheels are frequently enumerated.^ In 1693, the statute offering a reward for the encouragement of linen production was again passed. This is only one among several instances disclosing how little attention was paid by the General Assembly to the opposition with which all colonial laws looking to the promotion of manufactures was regarded by the English authorities. Under the re- vived Act of 1693, the justices of the peace Avere required to levy upon the inhabitants of their respective counties a proportionate amount of tobacco for distribution among the persons who should present specimens of linen of their own manufacture, this linen to be at least fifteen ells in length and three-quarters of a yard in width. Each per- son claiming the reward was to bring forward three pieces representing different grades in texture. For the piece of the finest quality, eight hundred pounds of tobacco were to be allotted; for the piece of second rate quality, six hundred pounds, and for the piece of third rate, four hun- dred pounds. This Act was to continue in force until 1699.2 The county records show that its rewards were claimed by local manufacturers of linen. One of the first instances entered was that of Thomas Chisman of York, who, in 1694, presented to the court of this county a piece of linen cloth which had been made in his dwelling-house by members of his family. On the same occasion, Thomas

1 So numerous are the references to linen-wlieels in this interval, that it would be impossible to give a full list of them. Among the articles in use which appear to have been very often made of this Virginian linen, were napkins. In one inventory, the Osborne, eighteen will be found included among the items of property belonging to the estate. See Becords of Henrico County, vol. 1688-1G97, p. 350, Va. State Library.

'■^ Heuing's /Statutes, vol. Ill, p. 135.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 459

Fowler offered a similar piece. In the course of the same year, Chisman presented a second piece of linen cloth and was allowed eight hundred pounds of tobacco.^ The same amount of tobacco was granted for the same reason to John Smith of Middlesex in 1695,2 ^nd to Thomas Cocke of Henrico.3 In 1697, Tobias Hall of Lancaster claimed the reward for the production of this kind of cloth, and again in 1698.'* Among the manufacturers of linen in Middlesex were Ralph Wormeley, who, in 1684, brouglit into court one hundred pounds of dressed flax fit for the spindle; Captain Henry Creyk, who presented seven yards of cloth ; and Richard Parrott, who presented thirty-five yards. Thirty-three yards were offered by other persons.^ In 1698, the court of Middlesex, replying to a communica- tion from the Governor asking to what extent linen had been manufactured in this county, stated that the quantity had amounted annually to about fifty yards.*^

No special attempt was made to foster by the offer of statutory encouragement the growth of domestic cotton manufacture, although Governor Andros, towards the close

1 Eecords of York County, vol. 1694-1697, pp. 60, 74, Va. State Library. An order of York court authorized the justices of the peace to pay the rewards prescribed by Act of Assembly ; for the first piece of linen, GOO lbs. of tobacco; for the second, 400; for the third, 200. Ibid., p. 222. This was in 1695.

2 Becords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1694-1705, orders Nov. 12, 1695.

3 Becords of Henrico County, vol. 1688-1697, p. 606, Va. State Library. * Becords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1696-1702, p. 32.

5 Becords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1680-1694, April 9, 1684. A reward was granted to Mr. Bayley of Elizabeth City County in 1696 for a "prime piece of Lynen," 22 yards in length. See vol. 1684-1699, p. 117, Va. State Library. Also, in 1694, to Mrs. Sarah Emperor of Lower Norfolk (records for 1694, November 13) for "best linen cloth."

« Becords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1694-1705, p. 222. The court was doubtless only referring to what had been presented to them to secure the reward.

460 ECONOMIC HISTOEY OF VIllGINIA

of the century, took steps to extend the culture of the phmt in Virginia. There are many indications, however, that this material was spun in considerable quantities in the households of the people. In a letter written in 1685 to one of his correspondents in England, Colonel Byrd refers to the rivalry among his dependents as to who sliould spin the most cotton, and this was not an uncommon case, as is revealed by the number of spinning-wheels included in the inventories, the use of which could not have been confined to wool and fiax.^

There was always a stronger opposition in England to the manufacture of woollen cloths in Virginia than to the manufacture of linen. The author of the Nova Britannia^ which was written in the earl}^ part of the century for the purpose of advancing the interests of the Colony by calling the attention of the English people to the many advantages it offered, was careful to depreciate its adaptability to sheep husbandry. God, he declared, had denied sheep to Virginia, and yet among its population there was a I'apidly increasing demand for clothing. He predicted that this would in the end cause the Colony to become a market of great importance for the sale of garments of English manufacture, and thus be the means of restoring the Eng- lish trade in cloth, now fallen into a state of decay in spite of the anxiety in the mother country to reestablish it.^ From an early period, woollen manufactures were carried on in a small way in the liomes of the planters, the quan- tity thus made being restricted rather by the paucity of sheep than b}- the limited facilities for production. Colonel Mathews, perhaps the leading citizen of Virginia in 1646,

1 Letters of William Byrd, March 8, 1685. There are occasional ref- erences in the inventories of this period to cotton-cards. See Becords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1695-1703, f. p. 06.

2 Nova Britannia, p. 22, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. I.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 461

not only spun linen from flax, but also wove cloth of wool. In the list of his employees there appear a number of artisans for this purpose.^ In 1656, the authority was given to Northampton County to pass laws to promote and govern its own manufactures, among which the woollen were probably of importance. ^

In 1659, a regulation was adopted prohibiting the ex- portation of wool, among other articles.'^ Seven years later, the difficulty of obtaining clothing from England to supply the needs of the peojjle became so great that the General Assembly determined to take more active steps for the encouragement of domestic woollen manufactures. What could be accomplished in this direction had already been illustrated in Governor Berkeley's success in furnish- ing his own household. The Assembly estimated that five women, or the same number of children of ages not exceeding thirteen years, could provide clothing for thirty persons. In order to remove the objection that there were no looms in the Colony, the court of each county was in- structed to set up one of these machines and to emplo}^ a weaver to work it. A failure to comply with this order exposed the court derelict to a fine of two thousand pounds of tobacco.^ In 1668, the scope of this law was enlarged

1 New Description of Virginia, pp. 14, 15, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. II. It is stated by Aubrey that Davenant, the poet, when at Paris during the time of the Protectorate, " laid an ingenuous design to carry a considerable number of artificers, chiefly weavers, from thence to Virginia, and by Mary, the Queen Mother's, means he got favour from the King of France to go into the Prisons and pick and choose ... he took thirty- six, as I remember, and not more, and shipped them, and as he was on his voyage to" Virginia, he and his weavers were all taken by the ships then belonging to the Parliament of England."

2 Hening's Statiites, vol. I, p. 39G. 3 Ibid., p. 488.

* Ibid., vol. II, p. 238. One of the charges against Sir William Berke- ley in the Charles City Grievances, 1676 ( Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. Ill), was that he misappropriated the tobacco levied for the encouragement of weavers.

462 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIEGINIA

by conferring upon the commissioners of the different counties the authority to erect houses in which the chil- dren of indigent parents were to be taught the art of spin- ning and weaving as well as other trades, these children to be selected at the disci-etion of the commissioners.^

In 1671, the statute prohibiting the exportation of wool, among other articles, was repealed on the ground that the handicraftsmen whose trades it was designed to aid had failed to take advantage of it.^ In 1682, it was reenacted. Wool and woolfels and the other articles named, the statute declared, were essential to the welfare of the people of the Colony, as furnishing necessary materials for use, and also as offering subsistence to many persons because they would find occupation in working them up. The penalty for exporting wool and woolfels was now placed at forty pounds of tobacco for every pound of these materials carried out of the country. The owner of the ship trans- porting it forfeited his interest in the vessel if aware of its presence on board, while the master and seamen were deprived of their goods and chattels for their participation in the act, besides being made subject to imprisonment for three months. If any person who had knowledge of the fact that a certain quantity of wool and woolfels were to be exported seized upon it, he was entitled to one-half of it as a reward for furnishing information as to its prospective illegal removal. The collectors were instructed to an- nounce to every shipmaster arriving, the passage of this statute, and to insert in the entry bond of each one, a con- dition that he should observe its provisions.^ With a view of encouraging the manufacture of the wool thus kept in Virginia, a second law was passed in 1682, which, as we have seen, was also applicable to linen, prescribing that six pounds of tobacco should be paid to every person who 1 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 266. 2 jj^id ^ p. 287. 3 /^jj^., pp. 493-497.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 463

brought to the court of the county in which he resided, a yard of woollen cloth or linsey-woolsey three-quarters of a yard wide, the same to be examined in the manner required in the case of linen. The fact that it was of the growth and manufacture of the person delivering it, was also to be shown and embodied in the certificate to be presented to the Assembly to ensure the payment of the reward. Under the provisions of the same law, ten pounds of tobacco were granted to every one in the Colony who made a fur or woollen hat, and twelve pounds to the maker of every dozen pair of worsted hose for men and women.^

The rewards offered by these statutes had a strong influ- ence in directing the attention of the planters to local woollen manufactures. In 1684, Ralph Wormeley pro- duced before the court of Middlesex, fourteen yards of woollen cloth woven on his estate. Christopher Wormeley, on the same occasion, presented ninety-five yards. Captain Henry Creyk sixty-one, John Farrell fifty-five, and Richard Parrott thirty-four. Forty-five yards were brought in by different planters at subsequent meetings of the same court.^ There is reason to think that persons in other counties took advantage of the same public inducements to manufacture woollen cloth.

As far as possible, the English authorities discouraged the manufacture of every form of cloth in Virginia, and it is, therefore, not surprising to find that the statute pro- hibiting the exportation of wool and woolfels, and the statute passed to encourage woollen and linen production, should have been regarded with the strongest disapproval by the English Government.^ In 1683, both measures

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 504.

2 Records of Middlesex County, original vol. 1680-1694, April 9, 1684.

3 Additional Instructions to Howard, 1683, clause 6, British State Papers, Colonial, No, 82 ; McDonald Papers, vol. VI, p. 293, Va. State Library.

464 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

were expressly disallowed by the commissioners of the customs on the ground that they diminished the corre- spondence between the mother country and the Colony ; weakened the dependence of the colonial population upon England ; curtailed the freight which was furnished to English shipping, and thus obstructed an increase in the number of English seamen ; seriously narrowed the mar- ket for English woollen and other manufactures ; advanced the cost of tobacco to the English consumer by raising the charges of navigation ; and finally, reduced the volume of the customs.! It has been pointed out that the statute to encourage the growth of linen and woollen manufact- ures was repealed in 1684, but for reasons which did not include the opposition of the English Government to its continuation. In spite of the adverse report of the com- missioners, this law was revived in 1686, to continue in force for four years, and was again reenacted at the end of that time, to remain in operation until the close of 1694.^ In the famous Act for Ports, a duty of six pence was placed on exported wool. The determination of the local authorities to establish woollen manufactures was shown in 1693 in the valuable privileges extended to all persons who proposed to erect fulling mills ; if such persons owned land on but one side of a stream, they could have condemned an acre on the other side for the convenience of carrying on the work of their mills, provided that there were no housings or orchards on the tracts thus appropriated. 3

1 Report of the Commissioners of Customs, 1683, British State Papers, Colonial, No. 82 ; McDonald Papers, vol. VI, p. 2G9, Va. State Library.

•■2 Heniiig's Statutes, vol. Ill, p. 60.

3 Ibid., p. 110. It was in this year that the Act for reviving the "Act for the Advancement of the Manufactures of the Growth of this Country " was suspended by proclamation of Governor Andros. See Becords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1679-1G94, p. 606,

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During his tenure of the governorship, Nicholson recom- mended to the English Government that measures should be adopted to discourage woollen manufactures in the Colony, an additional indication that the opposition of the mother country to these manufactures had proved ineffec- tive. Nicholson was justly charged by Beverley with gross inconsistency in this recommendation, for in the same let- ter, he had informed the English authorities that the price of tobacco had sunk to such a point that the people were unable to purchase clothing, which, as Beverley remarked with some bitterness, left it to be inferred that the planters were to go naked.^ Nicholson was really advising Parlia- ment to pass a law which it was impossible for that body to put in operation. To suppress the branch of domestic manufacture to which he referred, it would have been necessary to instruct constables to visit the different homes in their respective districts and destroy every loom and spindle. It is easy to see how such a duty, if performed at all, would have been performed with reluctance by the officers of the law, in consequence of their sympathy with their own people and the injury which they would have been inflicting upon their own interests. It is even proba- ble that these officers would have openly connived at the disregard of such an Act of Parliament, on the part of the population at large ; but, admitting that they might have sought with zeal and honesty to carry out their instructions, the distance between the plantations, and the remote life which the inhabitants led, would have been fatal obstacles to success in any attempt to put an end to local manufact- ures altogether. A prohibitory Act of this kind would not have had the approval of any class in the Colony, and the welfare of the whole population would have prompted a general combination to defeat the officers of the law.

1 Beverley's History of Virginia, pp. 83, 84.

VOL. 11. — 2 H

466 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

Parliament was too wise to consider the suggestion of Nicholson seriously; but in 1699, it adopted the rule that no wool or woollen goods produced by the plantations in America should be transported from one Colony to another, or from one point in a Colony to another point in the same Colony, or to anj^ foreign place whatever.^ Only a few years before, the English Government had expressed the most emphatic disapproval of the order passed by the General Assembly forbidding the exportation of wool or woolfels, on the ground that it conflicted with the spirit of the Navigation laws. England had now become appre- hensive lest the transfer of wool and woolfels from Colony to Colony should diminish the volume of her own trade in clothing with her American possessions. There was in the statute no prohibition of the making of woollen goods for private use.

It was the logical effect of these restrictive laws relat- ing to navigation and the exportation of wool and woollen products, that they stimulated a manufacturing spirit in the Colonies. The Navigation Acts were passed chiefly because England was unable to compete with Holland in the carrying trade of the world owing to the greater cheap- ness with which a cargo could be transported in the bottoms of the latter nationality. The exclusion of the Dutch had signified to the planters of Virginia not only the payment of higher freight rates in the conveyance of their tobacco to England, but the payment, moreover, of higher prices for the goods which they purchased from the English mer- chants for their servants, slaves, and their own families. This resulted from the fact, that now that the competi- tion of the Hollanders was removed, the merchants of the mother country were only restrained in their charges by competition among themselves. During the years in which

1 10 and 11 William and Mary, ch. X.

MANUFACTUEED SUPPLIES 467

the value of tobacco sank very low, any addition to the rates of transportation, however small, or to the price of manufactured articles imported, however trivial, had a seri- ous effect in still further depressing the condition of the people. At once, there arose a desire to make at home all the goods which were needed in the plantation households-^ This was a measure of economy inevitably suggested by the circumstances. On several occasions, the House of Burgesses boldly protested against the imposition of new duties on tobacco, on the ground that all measures tending to reduce the profits of the Virginians in the commodity inclined them to turn their attention to manufacturing on their own account, because their ability to purchase articles of English production had been impaired. ^ In an address by the Governor and Council to the Privy Council in 1692, that body was warned that unless the people were supplied from the mother country with an abundance of the goods which they needed and at the proper season in the year, " great inconveniences were likely to follow by the plant- ers being forced to betake themselves, as many of them had already begun, to the improving and making several commodities " ^ usually brought to them from England.

It will be seen from this quotation that the authorities of the Colony looked upon a general system of local manu- factures as a condition precipitated by low prices or de-

1 This was observed in a marked degree in 1681. In the course of that year, William Fitzhush wrote to a correspondent in England, " that little wool was to be obtained in his part of Virginia at that time, because it had been converted by the people into wearing apparel." August 24, 1681.

2 Address of Burgesses to the King, November, 168-5, British State Papers, Colonial Entry Book, Virginian Assembly No. 86 ; McDonald Papers, vol. VII, p. 331, Virginia State Library. See also Hening's Stat- utes, vol. Ill, pp. 34, 35.

3 Palmer's Calendar of Virginia State Papers, vol. I, pp. 38, 39. See also Beverley's History of Virginia, pp. 261, 262.

468 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

iicient supplies from abroad. There was no disposition among the inhabitants to foster manufactures on a large and important scale independently of the pressure of these merely temporary influences. They probably did not seriously object to the Act of Parliament of 1699, since it was in direct conformity, so far as wool was con- cerned, with the letter and spirit of their own statute passed in 1682. The Virginians, when they made clothing at all, made it not for shipment, but for their own use. The Colony was not sufficiently adapted to sheep husbandry at this early period to render the exportation of wool very profitable, and there was no prospect of its becoming a seat of woollen manufactures beyond the point of supply- ing the needs of its own plantations. As early as 1700, it had grown to be the habit of the people to mix cotton, linen, and wool in the manufacture of coarse garments for the use of their negroes and white servants, but although this form of manufacture was carried to such a point of development by 1710 that one county alone in that year produced forty thousand yards of woollen, cotton, and linen cloth, nevertheless, it was expressly stated by Spots- wood that this manufacture had sprung from necessity rather than from inclination ; that the people gave little promise of attaining to skill in it ; and that the clothing obtained in this manner really cost more than that which was imported when tobacco was commanding a high price. ^ While the amount of clothing manufactured in the households of the planters was always diminished by any advance in the value of tobacco, since their ability to buy English goods of this character was thereby increased, there is no reason to think that in any year or series of years, however prosperous, the manufacture of woollen garments for rough domestic use fell into abeyance. From

1 Letters of Governor Spotswood, vol. I, p. 72.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 469

the middle of the century to the close, there are few in- ventories of large personal estates among the items of which wool-cards and woollen-wheels do not appear. A few instances drawn from different periods may be given. Edward Jones of Henrico had four spinning-wheels ; William Porteus of Lower Norfolk and Richard Pargatis of Middlesex, two each ; John Nicholls of Lower Norfolk and Nicholas Gage of Lancaster, one each.i Joseph Croshaw of York left three woollen-wheels.^ In 1670, a woollen- wheel and two reels formed a part of the Hubbard estate,^ and also of the estate of John jNIarch of the same county.* A pair of wool-cards were in the same year included in the Bond estate.^ The Newell estate possessed nine pairs, ^ John Collins of York owned eleven and John Hubbard eight wool-cards,'' William Marshall of Elizabeth City eighteen,^ Henry Sjjratt of Lower Norfolk five,^ and Henry Jones of Henrico four, and Thomas Osborne two.^^ The

1 Hecords of Henrico County, vol. 1688-1697, pp. 628, 630, Va. State Library ; Becords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1694-1703, p. 22 ; Becords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1695-1703, f. p. 96 ; Becords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1690-1709, p. 97 ; Becords of Lower Norfolk County, vol. 1686-1695, p. 198. The references to woollen- wheels in the records of this county are very numerous.

2 Becords of York County, vol. 166-4-1672, p. 256, Va. State Library.

3 Lhid., p. 464.

^ Ibid., vol. 1687-1691, p. 40. The list of owners of woollen-wheels might be extended almost indefinitely. In some cases, the wheel and support were made of black walnut. See Henry Randolph's estate, Bec- ords of Henrico County, vol. 1688-1G97, p. 428, Va. State Library.

^ Becords of York County, vol. 1664-1672, p. 448, Va. State Library.

« Ibid., vol. 1675-1684, p. 140.

•^ Ibid., vol. 1677-1682, p. 105; Ibid., vol. 1664-1672, p. 319, Va. State Library.

8 Becords of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1684-1699, p. 300, Va. State Library.

^ Records of Lower Norfolk County, oriuinal vol. 1686-1695, f. p. 95. w Becords of Henrico County, vol. 1688-1697, pp. 351, 630, Va. State Library.

470 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

inventories of Middlesex, Lancaster, and the Eastern Shore disclose an equal number.

The presence of the loom is also shown in a number of cases. In 1668, William Parker, a former servant of Nathaniel Bacon, Sr., owned and operated a machine of this character in York with valuable encouragement from the county.^ Many years later, there was recorded in Elizabeth City an indenture, by the terms of which John Stringer was bound out for a period of five years to serve as an apprentice of Charles Combs and his wife in the trade of a weaver. ^ John West of Lower Norfolk, William Glover, William Cocke, and Martin Elam of Henrico, John Wallop of Accomac, and Charles Kelly of Lancaster were owners of looms. ^ William Phillips, also of Accomac, a weaver by profession, was a man of property ; in 1696, he is found buying a plantation in that county covering one hundred acres.* The manufacture of these looms extended to blankets and to flannel.^

1 Becords of York County, vol. 1664-1672, p. 285, Va. State Library.

2 Becords of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1684-1699, p. 113, Va. State Library. In 1689, Stringer had bound himself out as an apprentice to a cooper. See Ibid., p. 361. Edmond Swansy of this county also owned a loom. Ibid., p. 494.

3 Becords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1675-1686, f. p. 199 ; Becords of Henrico County, vol. 1688-1697, pp. 284, 706, Va. State Library; Becords of Accomac County, original vol. 1692-1715, p. 18; Becords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1696-1702, p. 96. There are also many references to wool-combs.

* Becords of Accomac County, original vol. 1692-1715, p. 118.

^ Becords of Northampton County, original vol. 1692-1707, pp. 235, '

253 ; Becords of Henrico County, vol. 1688-1697, p. 652. The inventory j of William Taylor of Accomac County included " 35 yards of Virginia

cloth," original vol. 1692-1715, p. 201. References to " Virginia stock- :

ings" will be found in Becords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1680- |

1694, orders April 9, 1684, and in Becords of York County, vol. 1694-1697, I p. 292, Va. State Library. For Virginian cloth, napkins, and towels, see

Becords of Henrico County, vol. 1688-1697, p. 350. It should be borne j

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 471

The wills of the seventeenth century on record in the county courts indicate that there were many negroes, more especially of the female sex, who had been carefully edu- cated to take part in domestic manufacture. After the cloth had been made, it Avas converted into suits, either by the slaves or by the servants. Byrd, in his instructions to his English merchants to send him mechanics, oc- casionally wrote for a tailor, stating that the term of the one then in his employment was on the point of expiring.^ The conditions upon which such tradesmen were engaged doubtless varied in different instances. The covenants into which Luke Mathews, a tailor of Hereford, entered with Thomas Landon of Virginia were probably fairly repre- sentative ; ]Mathews bound himself to serve Landon for a period of two years, his term to begin when he reached the Colony ; the remuneration was to be six pence a day when working for members of Landon's family, but when for other persons, he was to be entitled to one-half of the proceeds of his labor, whatever it might be.^

There were cases in which tailors bound by covenants had, before the date of their indentures, acquired or in- herited such large means, or had enjoyed such opportunities

in mind that only a portion of the county records of the seventeenth century have survived to the present day. Those which were destroyed would have thrown still further light on the extent of local manufacture.

1 Letters of William Byrd, May 31, 1686. One of the white servants of Robert Beverley, Sr., was a tailor, who very probably had been im- ported. See inventory on file at Middlesex C. H. Among the servants who were brought over in the First Supply (1608) were six tailors. A tailor formed one of the company of voyagers of 1607. See Works of Capt. John Smith, pp. 390, 412. In many cases, the wealthy planters imported from England the clothes worn by these servants and slaves. See Letters of William Byrd, May 31, 1686.

2 Becords of Middlesex Connty, original vol. 1694-1703, p. 14. Landon afterwards removed for a time to Carolina, and before doing so, entered into a second agreement with Mathews. See Ibid., p. 116.

472 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

to accumulate property in the hours during which they were not engaged for their masters, that they were able to purchase their freedom. ^ Many of the persons who fol- lowed this calling secured a livelihood by working by the day or by the special task. In 1678, Philip Thomas of Henrico brought in a statement of indebtedness against Captain Crews of that county, which showed that he had for forty-two days and a half been employed in the service of the latter under an agreement promising him twenty pounds of tobacco each day. Among the other articles of clothing made by Thomas during this time was a pair of leather drawers. ^ In 1692, the estate of Robert Booth owed to John Bradford, a tailor, the sum of one pound sterling, eighteen shillings and six pence. ^ William ^lurray of Elizabeth City County was, in 1697, sued by John Nelson, also a tailor, for the amount which had been determined upon as his reward for services extending over six weeks. This was one thousand pounds of tobacco.* Some years previously a tailor residing in Rappahannock County had charged forty pounds of tobacco for making a coat, seventy for making a leather waistcoat, and ninety for making a complete suit.^ The charges in Lancaster at this time were somewhat higher. The remuneration asked for making a coat was sixty pounds of tobacco, and for a pair of breeches twenty pounds.^ Hatters were not un-

1 Becords of Bappahannock County, vol. 16G8-1672, p. 200, Va. State Library.

- Becords of Henrico County, vol. 1677-1692, p. 154, Ya. State Library. These " drawers " were probably a pair of breeches, as this term was in that age very often applied to this article of dress.

3 Becords of York County, vol. 1690-1694, p. 180, Va. State Library.

* Becords of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1684-1699, pp. 150, 164, Va. State Library.

5 Becords of Bappahannock County, vol. 1668-1672, p. 248, Va. State Library.

<= Becords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1690-1709, p. 79. The

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 473

known in the Colony ; William Harrison of Henrico followed this trade, and the names of others might be mentioned.!

A curious instance which throws light upon the social standing of the men in the Colony who were engaged in these trades is recorded in York County. James Bullock, a tailor, entered into a wager with Mr. Mathew Slader that in a race to take place between their horses he would prove the winner. The court, instead of allowing him the amount agreed upon in the bet, which he seems to have won, fined him one hundred pounds of tobacco, on the ground that it was illegal for laborers to participate in horse-racing, this being a sport reserved exclusively for gentlemen. Tailors, nevertheless, were considered sufficiently respectable to act as the attorneys of leading planters in special transactions, and also in a long course of business.^

There are numerous indications that the tailors enjoyed a large measure of prosperity. In 1674, Henry Clianey of Accomac, a member of this trade, purchased a planta-

following tailor's bill is from the Lancaster records, original vol. 1G90- 1709, p. 79 : " John Mallis, D^ , for work done, 205 lbs. tobacco ; allowed George Chilton, for one garment, 50 lbs. ; Thos. Yerby, Dt , for work done, 225 lbs.; John Davis, D% for making seven women's jackets, 70 lbs.; for making a coat for y^ wife, 00 lbs. ; for altering a pair of plush britches, 20 lbs.; Henry Stonam, D^, f or y^ wife and daughter's jackett, 30 lbs.; for y: britches, 20 lbs.; coat, 40 lbs.; y^ boys' jackets, 20 lbs.; y^ son's britches, 25 lbs.; ye eldest son's ticking suite, 60 lbs.; John Travers' ticking suite, 60 lbs.; Wm. Smith, Dr to making one vest and loose coat, 90 lbs.; Wm. Goodridge, Dr, to making a dimity waistcoat, serge suite, 2 cotton waistcoats, and y. dimity coat, 185 lbs.; Richard Alderson, D', for a pr. of buff gloves, 100 lbs.; for one neck cloth, 12 lbs. ; a pr. stock- ings, etc., 120 lbs.; for a pr. leather britches, pr. Callimanco britches, 60 lbs.; for a coat making, 40 lbs." This bill was brought into court by John Daniell, administrator of Noah Eogers.

1 Becords of Henrico County, vol. 1677-1692, p. 229, Va. State Library.

2 Becords of York County, vol. 1071-1094, p. 84, Va. State Library.

474 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

tion which mcliicled one thousand acres in its area.^ A few years previous to this, John Watterson of Northamp- ton had bougiit four hundred and forty-four acres. ^ In Rappahannock, towards the close of the century, Joseph Smith, Thomas Winslow, and Herman Skiklerman arc found selling large tracts of land which they owned. ^ John Elder of Lower Norfolk purchased three hundred and seven acres. A few years later, John Winder of the same county bought one hundred.^ In 1660, John Walker of Lancaster was in possession of four hundred and thirty acres ; and a few years afterwards, John Carpenter of the same county sold five hundred,^ and Nicholas West of Middlesex purchased two hundred.^ It is probable that in all of these instances the area of ground held by the tailors named was very much in excess of that which has been mentioned.

The list of artificers for whom the London Company advertised in 1609 did not include tanners, curriers, and shoemakers, from which it would be inferred that the cor- poration expected to furnish the settlers with shoes from England in addition to every other form of clothing.'^

1 Records of Accomac County, original vol. 1673-1675, p. 192.

2 Becords of Northampton County, original vol. 1666-1668, p. 32.

3 Becords of Bappahannock County, vol. 1695-1699, pp. 76, 170 ; Ibid., vol. 1677-1682, p. 148 ; see also John Owen, Ibid., vol. 1682-1692, pp. 79, 80, Va. State Library.

* Becords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1666-1675, p. 117 ; Ibid., vol. 1675-1686, p. 23. Bryant Cahill, a tailor, owned' two lots in Norfolk town in 1692. Ibid., original vol. 1686-1695, f. p. 186. William Simpson, another tailor, owned one lot in York town. See Becords of York County, vol. 1691-1701, p. 195, Va. State Library.

^ Becords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1654-1702, p. 390; Ibid., vol. 1666-1682, p. 35. Thomas Thompson of this county was also a land- owner. See Ibid., p. 289.

^ Becords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1673-1685, p. 72.

'' Brown's Genesis of the United States, pp. 353, 355.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 475

This is confirmed by the enumeration given by the author of Nova Britannia of the artificers whose services would be required in Virginia ; it is significant to note that the tradesmen just named were omitted, the explanation being that the author was anxious to advance the interests of the Colony, and was, therefore, careful not to present it as a possible rival of the English people in any branch of trade in which they were largely engaged. He wished to make them favorable to Virginia by showing that an in- crease in its population would cause it to become a larger market for the sale of English manufactured goods, and in that character grow in importance each year. In the broadside issued by the Company in 1611, tanners and shoemakers were among those to whom inducements to emigrate were offered ; ^ and these inducements proved effective, for it is known that there were shoemakers and tanners in the Colony in 1616 who followed their trades as well as cultivated the ground. ^ It is evident, however, that the Company was still anxious not to create the im- pression in England that the settlers would be able to manufacture their own supply of shoes. When a com- mittee was appointed from among its members to report upon the best course to be pursued in the development of the lands assigned to the College in Virginia, they recommended that smiths, carpenters, bricklayers, brick- makers, potters, and husbandmen should be sent over,^ but made no reference to tanners, curriers, and shoemakers, who, it is true, were not especially needed to carry out the purpose in view. In 1618, Samuel Mathews, in addi- tion to having spinners and weavers among his servants

1 Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 445.

2 Rolfe's Virginia in 1616, Va. Historical Register, vol. I, No. Ill, p. 107. ^ Abstracts of Proceedings of the Virginia Company of London, vol. I,

p. 12.

476 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

and slaves, owned a tannery and employed eight shoe- makers, a number so great that they must have been engaged in part in making shoes for sale.

There are many indications in the records of the latter half of the seventeenth century that both tanners and shoemakers constituted a class of importance in the Col- ony, including those who were free as well as those who were serving under articles of indenture. It was not infrequent that the sons of planters were apprenticed to these trades.^ Beverley declared that the workmanship of the tanner and shoemaker was so careless and defective that the people were unwilling to use the product of their rude skill whenever shoes of English manufacture could be obtained. This statement was undoubtedly exagger- ated. That shoes made in the mother country were pre- ferred, was natural enough, but that the trade either of the tanner or the shoemaker languished in Virginia is not borne out by the facts recorded in the books of the county courts. There were few planters of easy fortune who did not, like Colonel Mathews, have tradesmen of this character in their employment. Colonel Edmund Scarborough, in a complaint which he entered in the court of Northampton County in 1662, mentions incidentally that he had nine shoemakers in his service, and that he had been at a heavy charge in tanning leather and mak- ing shoes. It is probable that he was a party to a con- tract with the local authorities for supplying the public wants in these particulars. He petitioned that Nathaniel Bradford, a currier by trade, should be punished for his failure to perform the duties which the law imposed upon all who followed that business. ^ Bradford was the

1 Records of Eappahannock County, vol. 1695-1699, p. 112, Va. State Library.

2 Records of Northampton County, original vol. 1657-1664, p. 153. The

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 477

owner of a tan-house and a shoemaker's shop, and at the tmie of his death was in possession of three hundred and eighteen hides and forty-six lasts. ^ Daniel Harrison of Lancaster gave employment to three shoemakers. His personal estate included, when appraised, one hundred and twenty-two sides of leather, seventy-two pairs of shoes, thirty-seven awls, and twenty-six paring knives, twelve dozen lasts, and numerous currier's and tanner's tools. 2 Richard Willis and Ralph Wormeley, who were planters of wealth, left large quantities of sole leather ^ and hides. This was also true of Mathew Hubbard of York.4

The leading planters were in the habit of importing shoemakers from England for the "same reasons that moved them to bring in representatives of other trades. Fitzhugh, writing to John Cooper, one of his London correspondents, in 1692, requests him to send over to Virginia several shoemakers, with lasts, awls, and knives,

following is from the York records: "It is this day agreed between ye Court on behalf of themselves and ye whole County of York, and William Heyward Calvert, who intermarried with the relict of John Heyward decl, and the said William did for his part engage himself and negroes that ye tanue house and pitts and other things appertaining shall be maintained and kept at his and their charge as ye County's tan house and pitts for 7 years from this time, (the same being on ye said John Heyward's plantation in New Poquoson), also to take all ye hydes of ye County that shall be brought him and allow for them according to Act of Assembly, also to tann, curry and make shoes of ye said hides and sell them at ye ratio appointed by ye said Act. In consideration whereof the Court hereby order that ye said William shall have paid him and his heirs at ye next leavy 4400 lbs. of tobacco as convenient as can be." liecords of York, vol. 1657-16G2, p. 373, Va. State Library.

1 Records of Northampton County, original vol. 1682-1697, f. p. 213.

2 Records of Lancaster County, original vol. 1674-1678, f. p. 43.

3 Records of Middlesex County, original vol. 1698-1713, p. 73 ; Il>id., original vol. 1604-1703, p. 128.

* Records of York County, vol. 1664-1672, p. 468, Va. State Library.

478 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

together with half a hundred shoemaker's thread, some twenty or thirty gallons of train oil and proper colorings for leather. He had set up a tan-house and wished to convert the product into shoes on his own plantation, i The need of importing shoemakers was probably greater in the Northern Neck, in which part of the Colony Fitz- hugh resided, than in the older communities, where the representatives of the trades were more numerous and more skilful.

The county records of that period contained many indentures between planters and shoemakers. Of these, a fair example was the contract between Robert Gate and Peter Wyke of Henrico in 1679. Gate entered into bonds to serve Wyke for -a term of four years. He was to be exempted from the task of planting and tending tobacco, but was required to perform all other agricultural work; he was to receive by way of remuneration, food, drink, apparel, washing, and lodging, and when his agreement expired, a good suit and three barrels of Indian corn were to be given him. It will be observed that while Gate was engaged principally for his knowledge of the shoe- maker's trade, he was also expected to make himself use- ful in other branches of industry .2 This was probably the case with all classes of mechanics who earned a liveli- hood in the employment of landowners in the seventeenth century.

Many of the tanners were men of considerable property. The personalty of Roger Long of York was valued at sixty- four pounds and fifteen shillings, and he owned in the form of debts to him, fourteen thousand pounds of tobacco.^ In several instances in Lower Norfolk County, members

1 Letters of William Fitzhugh, July 4, 1692.

2 Becords of Henrico County, vol. 1088-1697, p. 8-5, Va. State Librarj'.

3 Becords of York County, vol. 1G64-1672, p. 475, Va. State Library.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 479

of tliis trade bought or disposed of valuable and extensive tracts of land. Thus in 1691, James Jackson sold one hundred acres, and George Valentine purchased one hun- dred and lifty.^ A few years previously, Thomas Nicol- son of Accomac had sold four hundred. ^ The shoemakers of the Colony were probably in possession of still larger areas of ground. In 1681, Joseph Carling of Lower Nor- folk bought one hundred acres ; James Loun, a few years later, the same number, and Benjamin Robert one-half that area.^ Thomas Sadler, a shoemaker of Rappahannock, purchased one hundred acres of land on a single occasion. If the leather produced in the Colony was as defective as Beverley represented it to have been,* the fact was not to be attributed to lack of legislative attention; tanners, curriers, and shoemakers Avere subject to very careful restrictions in following their callings. In order to en- sure its proper condition, no leather was to be thrown into the vat until the lime had been thoroughly soaked, nor was the leather to be allowed to remain there until it had become over-limed. The currier was not permitted to use salt in its preparation, and if he did so, he was to pay the owner of the hide ten shillings as a fine for the offence. He was suffered to charge two shillings and six pence for a bundle of ten hides or six dozen calf -skins. The shoemaker was forbidden to work up leather which had not been legally sealed as well-tanned and well-cur- ried. He was to use only thread that was sound, twisted, and waxed or rosined. The stitches were to be drawn with the utmost care. The inspectors or viewers were

1 Becords of Loioer Norfolk County, original vol. 1686-1695, f. p. 164 ; Ibid., original vol. 1675-1686, p. 114.

2 Becords of Accomac County, original vol. 1676-1690, p. 159.

3 Becords of Loioer Norfolk County, original vol. 1675-1686, f. p. 104 ; Ibid., original vol. 1686-1695, f . pp. 153, 179.

« Beverley's History of Virginia, p. 239.

480 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

instructed to appropriate all leather that was badly tanned or curried, and all boots, shoes, and bridles manufactured from defective material. Six persons were appointed as inspectors and they were required to perform their duties in open court. Acceptance of bribes, or the exaction of a larger amount than was sanctioned by the law, exposed them to a fine of twenty pounds sterling. If they refused to place their stamp on leather of good quality, they were mulcted forty shillings. Five pounds sterling constituted the penalty for declining to accept the office of inspector. Under the provisions of this law, leather consisted of the skin of the ox, steer, bull, cow, calf, deer, goat, and sheep. ^ The first Act interdicting the exportation of hides from Virginia was passed in 1632. It was designed to apply to the skins of deer as well as to the skins of all sorts of domestic animals. The same provisions were shortly reenacted, furs, such as those of the beaver and otter, for example, being excepted from its scope. ^ In 1645, a prohibition was laid upon the shipment of raw hides and leather, together with a variety of other articles specified in the same statute.^ In the succeeding year, this regulation was repealed. Seventeen years later, the exportation of hides as Avell as of wool and iron was strictly forbidden, the penalty incurred in violating the law falling only upon the buyer. At the following ses- sion of the Assembly, the penalty was extended to the seller, this penalty amounting to one thousand pounds of tobacco. In the Act passed in the course of this year,

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. Ill, pp. 75-80. An instance of the seizure of defective leather will be found in Records of York County, vol. 1000-1694, p. 271, Va. State Library. See, for appointment of viewers, Becords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1680-1601, orders March 1, 1691-1692 ; Feb. 6, 1692-1693 ; purchase of seal, Ibid., orders Dec. 4, 1693.

2 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, pp. 174, 199. ^ Ibid., p. 307.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 481

deer and calf skins were declared to be included in the meaning of the word "hide." ^

Tlie scope of the original Act was in 1665 again ex- tended. The penalty for shipping hides from the Colony had previously been restricted to the buyer and seller, but it was now made to apply to all tanners who sought to export leather and shoes, and to all masters of vessels who received these articles. By the original law, a large ship was permitted by special license to carry out eight hides, and smaller ships a number in proportion to their size, according to what was calculated to be sufficient for the needs of their crews. The collector issued the licenses before the hides were brought on board, and the masters and commanders of vessels were liable for an excess over the number allowed by a special clause in their bonds. For every hide or skin beyond this number exported, the seller, whether a tanner or not, was fined one thousand pounds of tobacco, and the same penalty was imposed upon the shipmaster or commander who received it. For every pair of shoes transported from the country, the seller and buyer forfeited one hundred pounds of the same commodity. ^

All the laws relating to the exportation of hides, as well as of iron and wool, were repealed in 1671 on the ground that the tradesmen whom it was intended to benefit had failed to derive any advantage from them.^ It is diffi- cult to see how the welfare of the tanners, curriers, and shoemakers in the Colony could be advanced materially by enactments expressly jjrohibiting the shipment of dressed leather and shoes, but this clause was inserted probably to remove the apprehension of the Englisli Government lest Virginia should become an active com-

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, pp. 124, 179, 185. "^ Ibid, p. 216. 3 /ftjVL, p. 287.

VOL. II. 2 1

482 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

petitor of the English shoe manufacturers in countries lying outside of its own borders. The Assembly had, in 16G0, adopted rules which would furnish this class of workmen, it was supposed, with an ample market at home. Each county was instructed to erect a tan-house and to employ tanners, curriers, and shoemakers. There was appointed for each house an overseer, who was directed to receive all hides brought in, paying two pounds of tobacco for each pound of hide. To the persons present- ing hides he was required to sell plain shoes at the rate of thirty pounds a pair. French falls of the largest size were to be sold to such persons at the rate of thirty-five pounds a pair, whilst those of the smallest were to be sold at twenty pounds. A penalty of five thousand pounds of tobacco was imposed upon every county that failed to erect a tan-house in pursuance of this legislative act.^

By the law of 1682, the rule prohibiting the exportation of hides and skins, tanned and untanned, together with the other articles named, was reestablished on the ground, as has already been pointed out, that it would give employ- ment to many idle and suffering people, besides supplying the Colony with manufactured goods. The penalty for sending out hides and skins, or leather worked up into wearing apparel, was, by the terms of this measure, fixed at one hundred and fifty pounds of tobacco. The ship- owner and seamen detected in the act of transporting these articles from Virginia, were subject to the same punishment as we have seen imposed in the case of wool. The duty of the collectors was the same.^

1 Heninpj's Statutes, vol. II, p. 123. It was under the provisions of this law that the tan-house belonging to York County, referred to in a previous note, was maintained.

2 Ibid., p. 493. The number of skins exported by a single person was often very large. In March, 1G82, Richard Buller petitioned the Privy Council for the restoration of one thousand skins, which had been seized

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 483

In 1682, a dressed buckskin was appraised at two shil- lings four pence and three-quarters, and one undressed at a shilling and two and a quarter pence ; the value of a dressed doeskin was fixed at one shilling and nine and a half pence ; if undressed, at eleven pence. ^ In the Act for Ports, passed in 1691, but never put in operation, an export duty was laid upon all skins and furs shipped from the Colony, this being tantamount to a repeal of the law forbidding their exportation. On every raw hide, the export duty was one shilling ; on every tanned hide, two shillings ; on every buckskin, dressed or undressed, eight pence ; on every doeskin, dressed or undressed, five pence ; on every elkskin, one shilling. A duty was also placed on the skins of beaver, otter, raccoon, wild-cat, mink, and muskrat.2

In 1693, an export duty was laid on skins for the benefit of William and Mary College ; on every raw hide, the tax was three pence ; on every tanned hide, six pence ; on every dressed buckskin, one penny and three farthings ; on every undressed buckskin, one penny ; on every doe- skin dressed, one penny halfpenny ; on every undressed doeskin, three farthings. A graduated tax was also laid on the skins of the beaver, otter, raccoon, wild-cat, minx, fox, and muskrat.

Passing from articles of a general character to certain forms of food, or ingredients of food, manufactured in the Colony, it is found that an attempt to produce salt was made as early as 1616. Seventeen men, who were pro- vided for at the expense of the Company, were established at Dale's Gift at Cape Charles in the course of that year

on account of the violation of the Act in force forbidding exportation of hides.

1 Hening's Statutps, vol. II, p, 507.

"^ Ibid., vol.111, p. 63.

484 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

for the purpose of engaging in this work.^ For evapora- tion, they appear to have relied at first principally on the heat of the sun. Until Argoll assumed the administration of affairs, the f)eople obtained their supplies of salt from this source,^ but in the common wreck precipitated by his government, the little band of men were dispersed, and their appliances fell into decay ; ^ this led to much suffering, as the settlers were forced to eat their pork and other meats in the fresh state. The distempers resulting from this necessity were so severe that the Company in 1620 decided to erect the salt works again, and in the following year Miles Pirket, who was skilled in salt-making, was sent to Virginia.^ The object which the Company had in view was not only to furnish the people with the salt needed, but also in time to produce so great a quantity that all the fisheries on the American coast might look to the Colony for supplies of this article.^ In 1621, John Pory was in- structed by Yeardley to visit the Eastern Shore to select a spot combining the most conveniences for the proposed manufacture.^ The supervision of the erection of the works was given to Maurice Berkeley, who had as his principal subordinate. Miles Pirkett, and also the assist- ance of a second man trained in making salt.' The undertaking could not have been placed on a permanent

1 Rolfe's Relation, in Neill's Virginia Company of London, p. 111.

2 Neill's Virginia Company of London, p. 180.

3 Abstracts of Proceedings of the Virginia Company of London, vol. I, p. 65.

* Company's Letter, Sept. 11, 1021, Neill's Virginia Company of London, p. 249.

5 Abstracts of Proceedings of the Virginia Company of London, vol. I, p. 68.

6 Works of Capt. John Smith, p. 567.

■^ Letter of Governor and Council to Company, January, 1621-22, Neill's Virginia Company of London, p. 283. Pirkett is sometimes referred to as Pickett, sometimes as Prickett.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 485

footing, for, in 1627, William Capps was sent to the Colony to try an experiment in the manufacture of bay salt in addition to carrying out the other objects of his mission to Virginia. If he began the experiment at all, he was soon interrupted by a contention in which he became involved, and which ended in his expulsion from the country.

The General Court at Jamestown, in 1630, passed an order, in conformity probably with instructions from England, that the manufacture of salt should be begun again. 1 This seems to have been done, for the Governor and Council shortly afterwards informed the English authorities that the colonists, who in the production of this article had hitherto employed artificial heat in the process of evaporation, would soon be using the heat of the sun. 2 Harvey indulged in many hopeful expectations when writing upon the point at this time.^ Thirty years after the close of his administration, the General Assembly rewarded Mr. Dawen, a citizen of Accomac, for the speci- mens of salt which he had produced by requiring the costs which he had incurred in visiting Jamestown, to be de- frayed out of the general levy. He was also exempted from the levy of Accomac* In 1660, the Assembly offered to grant ten thousand pounds of tobacco to Colonel Edmund Scarborough of Northampton if he should succeed in mak- ing eight hundred bushels.^ In the following session, still more valuable encouragement was extended to him in con- sideration of his having erected works for that purpose. He was made the beneficiary of the whole amount of revenue collected in Northampton County in the settlement of the

1 Bandolph MSS., vol. II, p. 215.

2 Boyal Hist. MSS. Commission, Fourth Report, Appx., pp. |toO, 291.

3 Governor Harvey to Dorchester, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. V, No. 83 ; Sainsbury Abstracts for 1630, p. 213, Va. State Library.

* Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 12. 5 Ibid., p. 38.

486 ECONOMIC HISTORY OP VIRGINIA

duty of two shillings imposed upon every hogshead ex- ported, subject, however, to the condition that he was to deliver to persons designated by the Assembly the salt which he manufactured, the exchange to be made at the rate of two shillings and six pence a bushel. No salt was to be imported into the county of Northampton after 1663, and if the master of a ship, bark, or any smaller craft disregarded this order, he was to suffer the confiscation of his vessel.^ Anticipating that Colonel Scarborough might be unable to supply by his own manufacture the people of the Eastern Shore with the whole amount they required, the Assembly at a later date granted to him the exclusive privilege of importing this article into that Peninsula, and if the needs of the inhabitants in this respect were not met in spite of these additional facilities for obtaining salt, they were to be permitted to buy it of any one who possessed it, for "their own use, but not for the purpose of selling it.^ This monopoly having been found to be repugnant to the public health and convenience, it was withdrawn as far as it related to Northampton, and was not again renewed. ^ There is no evidence that salt was manufactured anywhere in Virginia in the seventeenth century except on the Eastern Shore, the waters of the inland bays and estuaries being less impregnated with brine than the waters of the open sea. The reference to the importation of the foreign article became more frequent towards the close of the century. This importation was never interrupted in the greater portion of the Colony, salt being brought in as a part of the annual supplies consigned to Virginia.*

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 122.

2 Ihid,, p. 186.

3 Ihid:, p. 236. It is stated in a General Court entry for 1671 that Berkeley encouraged the making of salt in Virginia, presumably at this time. Bohinson Transcripts, p. 258.

* Hening's Statutes, vol. Ill, p. 405.

MANUFACTDKED SUPPLIES 487

The need of some means of grinding grain was felt in the Colony as early as 1620, and in the summer of that year, to meet this want, a proposition was brought for- ward at a General Court of the Company to send over skilful Wrights to construct water-mills. In 1621, Gov- ernor Yeardley built a windmill in Virginia, which was the first building of this character erected in North America.^ In the same year, the Treasurer of the Colony was com- manded to construct a water-mill. The numerous streams of Virginia rendered it easy to secure the necessary power for grinding, and after the first mill was erected, the number steadily increased with the growth of population. In 1631, a mill was erected at Kecoughtan by the mill- wrights whom Claiborne had introduced into the Colony. ^ In the following year, it is found that there was a struc- ture of this kind standing on the plantation of William Brocas, situated not far from Jamestown. ^ Corn-mills were also owned in Virginia at this time by Hugh Bul- lock.^ In 1645, there were a sufficient number in the Colony to require that legislative provisions should be adopted for their regulation. As, in consequence of the small trade or local monopolies, the charges of the owners had become excessive, the law stepped in to protect the planters in the matter of rates, declaring that the miller should take as his remuneration only one-sixth of the Indian corn brought him for grinding. Means, however, were found to evade this provision in the levying of toll, and it was consequently prescribed that all mill-owners

1 Governor and Council of Virginia to the Company, Januaiy, 1G21- 22, Neill's Virginia Compan)/ of London, p. 283.

"^ Archives of Maryland, Proceedings of Council, 1667-1G87, p. 2:1(5.

3 Neill's Virginia Carolorum, p. 117. See also Va. Land Patents, vol. 162.3-1643, p. .533.

* Becords of York Cotintij, vol. 1<)33-I(in4, p. 30, Ya. State Library.

488 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

should keep scales and weights on hand for the ensure- ment of accurate measures.^ In 1649, there were five water-mills in Virginia, four windmills, and a great num- ber of horse, and hand mills. ^ Some years later, it became necessary to make the regulations adopted to secure accu- rate weights still more rigid, as there was a stronger disposition to disregard them. All grain received was to be carefully weighed, as well as all meal delivered. Stilyards or statute scales were to be used. A fine of one thousand pounds of tobacco was to be imposed in every instance in which there was an intentional failure to observe these requirements.^ In 1667, the number of mills in the Colony was not sutficient to supply the needs of the population, and valuable inducements were offered to encourage their erection, these inducements being the same as those extended in the case of fulling mills at a later date, that is to say, if the person who wished to erect a mill was in possession of land lying only on one side of the stream upon which he proposed to build, he was granted the right to appropriate an acre on the other side, two commissioners being appointed by the court to appraise its value. The appropriation, however, was not permitted, and this, we have seen, was also the case in the instance of fulling mills, if it involved the destruction of houses, orchards, and other conveniences.*

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 347.

2 New Description of Virginia, p. 5, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. II. See also Eecords of York County, vol. 1684-1687, p. 12, Va. State Library. Henry Spratt, in 1688, owned two hand-mills and one horse- mill. See Eecords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1686-1695, f . p. 95. Among the entries in the inventory of Ralph Wormeley's estate were horse millstones. See Eecords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1698-1713, p. 124.

3 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 485. * Ibid., vol. II, p. 260.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 489

From 1G67 to the close of the century, there was a rapid increase in the number of mills. The references to them in the description of metes and bounds in patents become more and more frequent. ^ There are also many- references to the transfers of this form of property. ^ The details of the expense of erecting a building of this char- acter at this time have been transmitted to us in the recorded account of a mill belonging to Edward Chisman of York. The stones and iron were imported from Eng- land at a cost of thirty-seven pounds and thirteen shil- lings.^ The remuneration of the millwright was ten thousand pounds of tobacco. The other items of expense were the labor of the sawyers in preparing the plank, of the smith in putting in the machinery, the wages of two persons in superintending the workingmen, the food and lodgings of the latter, the timber which entered into the construction of the building and the gates of tlie race, and finally the nails. The entire cost amounted to twenty- one thousand four hundred and five pounds of tobacco, equivalent in value to one hundred and seventy pounds sterling. It is interesting to note that the annual profits

1 For an instance, see Becords of Rappahannock County, vol. 1G68- 1672, p. 71, Va. State Library.

2 Becords of York County, vol. 1687-1691, p. 30, Va. State Library ; Ibid., vol. 1684-1687, p. 9, Va. State Library. In 1676, a half-interest in a mill situated in York County, the property of John Heywaxd and his wife, was sold for twenty pounds sterling, one thousand pounds of Indian corn, and five bushels of English wheat. The twenty pounds sterling were to be paid in goods ; and as an additional consideration, the pur- chaser agreed to grind the grain of Hey ward free of toll. Ibid., vol. 1671-1694, p. 157, Va. State Library.

3 The personal estate of Ealpli Wormeley included a pair of French burr millstones. Becords of Middlcspx, original vol. 1694-1703, p. 126. A millstone owned by William Eyrd, and used in his mill at Falling Creek, was valued at £40. See Becords of Henrico County, vol. 1677- 1699, orders, April 1, 1697.

490 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

of tills mill were calculated at four thousand pounds of tobacco. 1

In 1671, we discover the first indication of the existence of flour-mills in the Colony, from the legal provision of that year that the toll for grinding wheat should be one- eighth instead of one-sixth of the amount of grain brought to the mill, one-sixth, as has already been pointed out, being the proportion allowed in the case of maize. ^ Tow- ards the end of the century there were a number of flour- mills in Virginia. Fitzhugh mentions incidentally in his correspondence in 1686 that there was a mill not far from his house which ground both wheat and maize, and it was here that he obtained his regular supply of meal and flour. 3 Colonel Byrd was the owner of two grist-mills managed by men whom he had obtained from England. In 1685, he informs an English correspondent that he expected in the course of another year to forward to England a sample of flour manufactured on his planta- tion, his bolting-mill at this time not being finished.* Much of the wheat shipped to the West Indies was first converted into flour.^

1 Becords of York County, vol. 1675-1084, p. S2, Va. State Library. Among the owners of mills were Daniel Parke and John Page of York County, George Newton of Lower Norfolk, Matliew Kemp of Middlesex, Robert Carter, David Fox, Joseph Ball, and Robert Beckingham of Lancaster, Richard Kennon, John Pleasants of Henrico, and Thomas Gunston of Rappahannock.

2 Hening's Statutes, vol. IT, p. 280. There were flour-mills in the Colony at a date doubtless earlier than this. In 1661, there are refer- ences to flour in the inventories, but this had probably been sent to Virginia from England. ' See Becords of York County, vol. 1657-1662, p. 380, Va. State Library.

3 Letters of William Fitzhugh, April 22, 1686. * Letters of William Byrd, Feb. 10, 1685.

5 Ibid., Oct. 18, 1686. Thomas Cocke of Henrico County also owned a flour-mill. Becords, vol. 1677-1092, p. 71. This mill was situated near Malvern Hill.

MANUFACTURED SUPPLIES 491

I have already adverted to the saw-mills in Virginia during the existence of the company. In 1630, land at Jamestown was granted to persons who undertook to erect mills of this kind, and that they were built is shown in the correspondence of Harvey at this time.i As late as 1649, however, it is stated that a mill to saw boards was very much needed in Virginia. Either tlie term "board" was not used to include the material of Avhich the houses were usually constructed, or the demand for plank in the Colony was so great tliat the mills already in operation were unable to supply it.^ After the middle of the century, the saw-mills became as numerous as the grist-mills. In some cases, they were propelled by horse power. 3 The steel saws were imported from England. Patterns were sent to the mother country to obtain saws of the exact size desired, and the same method was adopted as to the rest of the iron machinery.*

There are indications that a small quantity of plank, which had been sawed in the Colony, was occasionally exported to England. In 1695, Fitzhugh sent walnut plank to John jNlason of Bristol, but was so much discour- aged by the pecuniary outcome of the venture that he

1 Delaware 3ISS., linyal Hist. 'BISS. Commission, Fourth Eeport, Appx., pp. 290, 291. A deed bearing the date of 1G37 shows that Hugh Bullock owned at that time saw-mills in Virginia. See Becords of York County., vol. 1G33-1G94, p. 30, Va. State Library. The first saw-mill erected in England was not built until 1(5.55. Tliis was due to the ignorance of the people, who thought that the trade of the sawyers would be ruined by such mills. Bishop's History of American Manufactures, vol. I, p. 93.

2 New Description of Virginia, p. 5, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. IL The reference to saw-mills in the Neio Description of Virginia led Mr. Bishop, in his History of American Manufactures, to suppose that no mill of this character had previous to 1G49, been erected in Virginia; the records show that he was mistaken.

3 Becords of York County, vol. 1GG4-1G72, p. 407, Va. State Library. * Letters of William Byrd, March 8, June G, 1G83 ; Feb. 2, 1G84.

492 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

wrote that he was unwilling to repeat the experiment.^ It seems that Fitzhugh was not the only planter who had made such a shipment ; Captain Brent also had for- warded several cargoes of the same material for the use of Mr. Blaithwaite, having purchased it in Virginia at the rate of six pence a foot.^

Pipe-staves and clapboards were manufactured in Vir- ginia from an early date. This was one of the employ- ments in which the colonists were engaged during the presidency of Smith. Among the conditions inserted in every grant of land, as laid down by the Orders and Con- stitutions of 1619-20, was one that the patentee should, among other tasks imposed on him at the same time, fashion boards for house-building.^ Williams calculated in 1650 that a man was able to make annually fifteen thousand pipe-staves and clapboards, which could be sold in the Canary Islands for twenty pounds sterling a thousand.* That this manufacture was carried on at the time in question, is proved by the statement of the author of the Neiv Description of Virginia^ who declared that the shipmasters, when they were unable to obtain a full lading, carried out pipe-staves, clapboard, walnut, and cedar timber.^ The freight to Barbadoes on the first, towards the close of the century, was one-half of the charge imposed for their transportation to England. On one occasion, Fitzhugh was about to make a shipment of staves to Barbadoes, but on the captain's deciding to go to England, Fitzhugh sold them to him at the rate of

1 Letters of William Fitzhugh, July 21, 1698.

2 Ihid. Pine plank was valued in Lower Norfolk County in 1695 at five shillings a foot. See Records, original vol. 1695-1703, p. 2.

3 Orders and Constitutions, 1619, p. 21, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III.

* Virginia Kichly Valued, p. 14, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III. 5 New Description of Virginia, p. 5, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. II.

MANUFACTURED SUPrLIES 493

fifty shillings a thousand, a hamper of canary being thrown iii.i j^-^ r^ later date, Fitzhugh transported six thousand two hundred and forty articles of the same kind to Bar- badoes.2 At still another time, he proposed to send to his merchant in London ten thousand, and expressed him- self as ready to dispatch, if a fair profit could be secured, as many as seventy thousand trunnels.^ In 1690, John Waugli of York gave a note to William Sedgwick, prom- ising to deliver on a designated day, fourteen thousand pipe-staves, which were now valued at two pounds and ten shillings a thousand. Notes of this character were not uncommon, and they were frequently causes of suit.* Pitch and tar were produced in Virginia in small quantities during the administration of the Company, several Poles having been sent out to the Colony for that purpose. It was proposed that a number of apprentices should be set to learn the art of this manufacture under the foreigners.^ There is no evidence that these articles were made on a scale of importance in the subsequent history of the Colony, although England was compelled throughout this period to import large quantities from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.^ In 1698, the only place Avhere pitch and tar were produced in Virginia in a considerable quantity was in Elizabeth City County. The amount did not exceed twelve hundred barrels

1 Letters of William Fitzhugh, May 22, 1083.

2 Ibid.

3 Ibid., June 5, 1682.

* Records of York Connty, vol. 1687-1691, p. 448, Va. State Library ; Records of Lower Norfolk County, original vol., orders Sept. 19, 1094. Boards and staves were sometimes the consideration in the purchase of land. See Records of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1695-1703, f. p. 103.

5 Abstracts of Proceedings of the Virginia Company of London, vol. I, p. 17.

•^ Anderson's History of Commerce, vol. Ill, p. 2.

494 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

annually, knots of old pine trees being the material used.^ Barrels of tar were from an early period very frequently included in the inventories of estates in Lower Norfolk County, and the entries of this form of property increased in a very notable degree in the last five years of the cen- tury. This commodity became an important consideration in the transfer of titles to land; in some instances, it was offered in part payment and in others in whole. ^ There were also fitful attempts to manufacture potashes. In several cases, samples were shipped to England, but at no time did the production of this commodity develop into an important industry. ^ It sold for about 7s. 6d. a barrel.*

1 British State Papers, Colonial, Virginia B. T., vol. II, B. 17. "In obedience to his excellency's the Governor's letter, this court having taken the same into consideration, doe returne for answer that there never was any quantitys of pitch and tar made in this county nor is there any quantity of pine to make the same." Eecords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1694-1705, p. 222.

2 Records of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1675-1086, f . p. 83 ; Ihid, original vol. 1695-1703, f. p. 103.

3 Governor Harvey to Privy Council, October, 1630, British State Papers, Colonial, No. 5 ; McDonald Papers, vol. II, p. 45, Va. State Library.

* Becords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1695-1703, p. 2.

CHAPTER XIX

MONEY

The history of Virginia in the seventeenth centnry furnishes perhaps the most interesting instance in modern times of a country established upon the footing of an organized and civilized community, with an ever-growing number of inhabitants and an ever-enlarging volume of trade, yet compelled to have recourse to a method of exchange which seems especially characteristic of peoples still lingering in the barbarous or semi-barbarous state. From 1607 to 1700, the period upon which I am dwelling, a period covering an interval of ninety-three years, in the course of which the small band of colonists who disem- barked at Jamestown in the spring of 1607 increased from a few hundred persons to many thousands, a period in which the unbroken forest east of the falls in the rivers flowing into the Chesapeake Bay was in large part cut down and the soil dug up and planted in tobacco, wheat, and maize, the financial system of Vir- ginia was in principal measure based upon exchange in its crudest and simplest form. An agricultural product was given for a manufactured, or a manufactured product for an agricultural. Coin, which is just as much of a commodity as an agricultural or manufactured article, circulated in Virginia only in small quantities, even after nine decades had passed since the foundation of the Colony. Tobacco was the standard of value at the very 495

496 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

time that the whole community was engaged in planting it. It was the money in which all the supplies, both domestic and imported, were purchased; in which the tax imposed by the public levy was settled; in which the tithables of the minister, the fees of the attorney and the physician, the debts due the merchant, the remuner- ation of the free mechanic, the wages of the servant, the charges of the midwife and the grave-digger were paid. In no similar instance has an agricultural product entered so deeply and so extensively into the spirit and frame- work of any modern community. It was to the Colony what the potato has been to Ireland, the coffee-berry to Brazil, the grape to France, and corn to Egypt; and it was also something more. It was, as it were, at once an agricultural and a metallic commodity, which, owing to the perverse taste of mankind, was as valuable in itself as the potato, the coffee-berry, the grape, the grain of wheat, and at the same moment as precious as gold or silver and more precious than iron. It was as if men had substituted the barns in their yards for purses in their pockets. The universal use into which tobacco came as currency, arose, not from the preference of the settlers, but by the force of circumstances which they could not have controlled even if they had wished to. In the beginning, there was no need for a medium of exchange. It was the exchange only which was wanted. Virginia raised tobacco to barter for English clothing, tools, utensils, and implements that were indispensable to the people, and which they themselves could not at that early period manufacture. The Magazine estab- lished in 1616, the contents of which were delivered by the Cape Merchant to the planters in return for tobacco, could only have maintained its existence in a country in which the original principle of trade was operating

MONEY 497

on account of the poverty of that country or its infancy as an organized community. The buyer and seller simply " exchanged articles. The buyer was a seller and the seller a buyer at the same moment. There was no occasion for the passage of a single coin from one to the other. As the population enlarged, and the volume of exported tobacco and imported merchandise increased, the demand for coin in the transfer of the great agricultural j)ro- duct of Virginia for the manufactured goods of England remained in proportion to the extent of the transaction almost as small. The principle governing it continued to be in its essence the same. The Virginians still desired to procure English commodities, the English merchants were still anxious to obtain the staple of the Colony. It was not necessary for the Virginian land- owner to transport his crops to the West Indies to secure articles to be disposed of in England for coin to be used in the purchase of English goods, as was the case with the farmer of New England in selling his grain and other provisions. The Magazine set up at Jamestown during the administration of the Company was in later periods practically established upon each estate by an English or native merchant when he exchanged his imported goods for the planter's tobacco, still without the inter- vention of a single coin. The inconveniences of such a system were felt not in the operation of external trade, that is to say, in the barter of Virginian for English products or the reverse, but in the working of internal affairs, in the transactions of local business, for instance, in the sale of the commodity of labor and professional knowledge and the like.

The peculiar character of the commercial relations ex- isting in the seventeenth century between Virginia and England was precisely what had been desired as well as

498 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

anticipated by English statesmen and merchants at the time of tlie foundation of the Colony. It was approved by the public men of England throughout the century not only because it increased the volume of English manu- factures, but also because it created no balance of trade against the English people, involving, as in the case of their dealings with the countries of Continental Euroj^e, a withdrawal of large quantities of coin each year from the kingdom to cover this balance. It was approved by the merchants during the same period because it gave them an opportunity to secure a double profit, first, a profit on the goods which they imported into Virginia, and secondly, a profit on the tobacco which they exported from the Colony. Had th'fey been compelled to pay in coin for every pound of that commodity purchased from the planters, they would not only have secured no gain on the outward voyage, since in that instance they would have carried over no cargo, but they would have lost irre- trievably the large amount expended in meeting the cost of navigating their ships in passing from England to Virginia.

In one of the petitions drawn up by the first Assembly which convened in the Colony, it is stated that there was at this time " no money at all " in Virginia. The true explanation of this condition was recognized by the Bur- gesses when they declared that they had no mint, the only means in the circumstances of trade existing then by which coin could have been obtained. Under the provi- sions of the charter of 1606, the right to make money of metal was granted to the Company, but this privilege was not renewed in the second charter. It does not appear to have been exercised in the brief interval to which it was confined. The Assembly of 1619 was very earnest in urging that the Treasurer who was to be appointed to

MONEY 499

collect the quit-rents, which ought properly to have been paid in coin, should accept tobacco in its stead, in order to avoid the deadlock which would result from demand- ing rents in the metals, at a time when the latter were not to be found in the Colony. ^

When Sir George Yeardley in 1628 came to draw up his will, he inserted among its provisions, strict directions that the portion of his estate in Virginia, including lands, cattle, and servants, should be sold for tobacco, and that this should be transported to England and there disposed of at the highest price. These instructions show how impossible it was, a generation after the foundation of the Colony, to convert an estate into coin or even bills of exchange for transmission to the mother country, although this method, of course, would have been far preferable to one which involved the shipment of an agricultural prod- uct with the heavy freight charges attendant.^ For a number of years previous to 1632, it seems to have been the habit to value all articles in tobacco, an indication not only of the supreme importance of the commodity in the financial system of the Colony, but also of the compara- tive stability of its price in the market. As soon as this price began to fluctuate with more or less suddenness, it became highly advisable to use the figures of English cur- rency in all ordinary appraisements ; it is not, therefore, surprising to find that in 1632 an Act of Assembly was passed requiring that in calculating the amount of estates of deceased persons, coin alone should be used as the expression of value. ^ It is probable that this regulation

1 Lawes of Assembly, 1619, Colonial Records of Virginia, State Senate Doct., Extra, 1874, p. 16.

2 Will of Sir George Yeardley, JVew England Historical and Genea- logical Register, January, 1884, p. 69. See General Court Orders, Feb. 4, 1627, Robinson Transcripts, p. 71.

3 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 170.

500 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

had been adopted in relation to salaries some years before. A decline in the price of tobacco would have inflicted special loss on the class of office-holders if the rule had been different. No class in the Colony were more careful in maintaining every condition that was favorable to their welfare. Although their salaries were rated in 1638 in English currency, it is known that they contented them- selves with receiving tobacco instead of money sterling, either because there was no coin in Virginia or because this course was more in accord with their interests. ^

At this time, a certain amount of money sterling was introduced by means of masters of ships, who, in some cases, paid in this form the tax of two pence, imposed for the benefit of the Register upon every hogshead exported from Virginia. 2 So small, however, was the volume of the metals in circulation in 1636, that Governor Harvey, in a letter to Secretary Windebank, stated that there was in the country " little or no money " sterling, and so much inconvenience and damage did this fact occasion, that he was prompted to beg that a large quantity of farthings should be dispatched to the Colony to facilitate transac- tions in local business.^ Among the persons to whom a patent had been granted by the King to make and to place in general use in England coin equal in value to a farthing was Lord Maltravers, and upon him was conferred the right of supplying the people in Virginia with the same coins in exchange for such commodities as were readily salable in the English markets.* Their face value was

1 Governor Harvey and Council to Privy Council, Jan. 18, 1039, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. X, No. 5 ; Sainsbury Abstracts for 163S- 1639, p. 52, Va. State Library.

2 Ibid.

3 British State Papers, Colonial, vol. IX, No. 17 ; Sainsbury Abstracts for 1636, p. 101, Va. State Library.

■* British State Papers, Colonial, vol. IX, No. 96, I.

MONEY 501

higher than the intrinsic value of the copper entering into their composition. This fact was well known to the in- habitants of the Colony. As soon as the royal intention of exporting these coins to Virginia was announced, the House of Burgesses called the attention of the Governor and Council to the deficiency ; they declared that mechan- ics Avould be unwilling to receive such money in remuner- ation for their labor, hired servants for their wages, and merchants for their debts. The Burgesses suggested that a petition should be presented to the King, begging him to import into Virginia five thousand pounds sterling annually to meet the constant need of coin, and that this money should be in the form of silver, Avith an allowance of ten per cent to such merchants as should bind them- selves to satisfy the exchanges. ^ A few years before, it had been calculated that the Colony would require annu- ally as much as twenty thousand pounds sterling, but in this estimate, there were included not only the salaries of the public officers, but also the expenses to be incurred in destroying the forest, in stocking the new plantations with cattle, in raising fortifications at the mouths of the large rivers, in maintaining an army which should be kept in active service, and in extending the exploration of Vir- ginia both by land and sea.^

No fact illustrates in a more impressive manner, the absolute dearth at this time of the metals in the Colony than the Act of Assembly passed in January, 1641, which provided that no debts contracted in Virginia to be settled in money sterling should be pleadable in a court of law.

1 British State Papers, Colonial, vol. IX, No. 9G, II ; Winder Papers, vol. I, p. Ill, Va. State Library.

2 Governor and Council to Privy Council, May 17, 1620, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. IV, No. 10 ; JtlcDonald Papers, vol. I, p. 30o, Va. State Library

502 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

The only exception allowed by this regulation was when the debt to be paid in coin had been incurred in the pur- chase of horses, mares, and sheep. ^ Only three years sub- sequent to the passage of this Act, the General Assembly, in the preamble of a new law bearing upon the problem of introducing money sterling, referred to the great Avants and miseries which arose day after day from the general use of tobacco as currency. In their anxiety to promote the influx of Spanish money, which appears at this time to have been flowing in in small quantities, probably from the Spanish and English islands in the West Indies, they determined to establish an arbitrary rate at which it Avas to be received in payment of all forms of indebtedness ; the result of their deliberations was that the piece of eight should pass as equal in value to six shillings, and all other coins of the same origin be estimated in proportion. In the event that Spanish money sterling could be drawn into Virginia, the General Assembly were apprehensive lest it might soon be drained away, and to provide against this possibility, they resolved to import ten thousand pounds avoirdupois of copper, to be purchased at eighteen pence a pound, and to be paid for in tobacco. To secure such a large quantity of the latter commodity, amounting to one hundred and twenty thousand pounds weight, a levy of twenty-four poujids a head was to be laid on the inhabitants of the Colony. It was decided that twenty shillings should be manufactured from each pound of copper, making, after a liberal deduction for the costs of mintage, a difference between the intrinsic value of the bullion and the face value of the coin amounting to eight thousand seven hundred and fifty pounds sterling, an enormous sum in that age. This copper was to be moulded into two, three, six, and nine penny pieces. Two rings were to be im-

1 Heniug's Statutes, vol. I, pp, 267, 268.

MONEY 503

i^ressed on each coin, in one of wliich a motto was to be inscribed and to remain permanently. There was to be annually stamped on the other a new figure, and an officer to perform this duty was to be appointed in each county. Captain John Ui^ton was named as the general master of the mint. The Assembly, in order to give this money a steady value, declared that if at any time it was called in, and in consequence ceased to have currency, the public treasury would pay to the holders, to each one in propor- tion to the amount in his possession, the sum of ten thou- sand pounds sterling, as represented in tobacco, this large quantity of the commodity in question to be obtained by a general levy. Death was to be the penalty for counter- feiting this copper coin.^

It is interesting to note the arbitrary means employed by the General Assembly not only to give a fixed value to the piece of eight, but also to compel the inhabitants of the Colony to accept this form of money at the rate pre- scribed. This, it is almost unnecessary to say, has been the logical consequence in all ages of all attempts to gov- ern the value of money by an act of legislation, instead of leaving that value to be controlled by the preciousness of the metal as governed by the price in the market. As has been seen, the Assembly proclaimed that the piece of eight should pass current as equal in value to six shil- lings. This was in 1645. It is evident that in the opin- ion of the people the piece of eight was not intrinsically worth so many shillings, and they, therefore, declined to use this coin in exchange at this rate although fixed by law. The Assembly, in consequence, decided in 1655 to lower the legal value to five shillings, proclaiming that all who refused to accept a piece of eight as thus valued were to be summoned before the court of the county in which

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 308.

504 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

they resided to answer for their disregard of the provisions of the statute.^ This Act failed to accomplisli the pur^Dose which it had in view. It was announced that it had been passed in the interest of mechanics especially, and yet the mechanics, as soon as they had had some experience of its practical operation, appear to have been the first to protest against it, on the ground that, after laboring for a subsist- ence, "they had only so many counters instead of ster- ling money for the sweat of their brows." It is obvious that advantage was taken of the regulation, to pass, not only upon members of that class but also upon others, a quantity of spurious coin.^

All debts which by the terms of the contract were to be paid in money sterling could now be enforced in court, provided that these debts had not been incurred in the interval between 1643 and 1649. In that case they were held to be unpleadable.^

The continued anxiety of the Assembly to promote an influx of money sterling is shown in the acknowledgment introduced into the preamble of the celebrated regulation imposing a tax of two shillings upon every hogshead ex- ported from A^irginia. It is there stated that one motive for the adoption of the regulation was that it would per- haps be conducive to the increase of the volume of coin in the Colony, an anticipation based upon the fact that when the duty of one penny for the benefit of the Register was placed on each cask, a regulation which was in operation only during a brief period, the shipmasters in many cases

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 410.

2 Ibid., p. 397. In consequence of this fact, it was provided in 1655-56 that only the silver piece of eight should pass as five shillings. See Ibid, p. 397.

3 Ibid., p. 417. It would appear that " all money debts which are or shall be made in England for goods imported into this colony," that is, Virginia, were also included in the scope of the exception. Ibid., p. 417.

MONEY 505

had preferred to pay this duty m money sterling to sub- serve their own convenience. ^ The author of Public Good ivithout Private Interest^ writing during tlie time of the Protectorate, complained of the serious obstruction caused in the transaction of all business by the bulkiness of tobacco, the only money then in general use in Virginia, and he urged the expediency of sending over a supply of coin to be made current there. ^

The prevailing notion in the seventeenth century that legislation was able to create any condition in the public wealth which lawgivers thought proper to bring about, again led the General Assembly in 1658 to play a trick of jugglery with the piece of eight. It was formerly pro- vided that not only should this coin pass as equal in value to five shillings, but also that no person could refuse to receive it at that figure without rendering himself liable to a penalty. It was soon found, as we have seen, that this gave an opportunity to pass metal of inferior quality, and the law was repealed. In 1658, the original statute was reenacted, but with the clause that a refusal of sound silver pieces of eight alone should be punished by a fine of twenty shillings. ^ It would be inferred from this that in the popular opinion a piece of eight, although made of silver and of unquestionable soundness, was not equal in value even to five shillings ; there would otherwise have been no necessity for adopting a rule to compel the colonists to take it at that rate, unless the object of the law was really to protect the planters against the extortions of the merchants and shipmasters, a supposition which appears improbable, as tobacco was in universal use when goods had to be bought of the importers, who were as anxious to

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 491.

2 Public Good without Private Interest, p. 21.

3 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 493.

506 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

secure that commodity as they were to sell their mer- chandise. This view seems to be sustained by the fact that in the same statute it was provided that no money sterling in excess of forty shillings should be exported from Virginia, under a penalty for a violation of the reg- ulation in double that amount. ^

That the right to sue for debts contracted in money sterling remained unimpaired after the middle of the cen- tury is revealed in the conclusion reached by the county court of York in 1669, in the suit of Captain Samuel Cooper, as attorney of Edward Smith, against John Page and others in their character of executors. The sum in dispute was twenty-six pounds, twelve shillings and six pence. They were ordered to deliver this amount in coin. It is safe to say that this decision would not have been arrived at if the court had thought that it would impose a special hardship to require the defendants to pay in money sterling, and we may accept the fact as an indication that English currency was now somev/hat more abundant in Virginia than twenty years earlier. 2 When Colonel Nor- wood, who had been spending several months at Green Spring, left Jamestown to go to Holland with the view of securing from Charles the Second the position of Treasurer of the Colony, it is stated that he was furnished with a sum of money by Governor Berkeley.^ Whatever coin

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 493.

2 Eecords of York County, vol. 1664-1672, p. 378, Va. State Library. " Hipwell Hilton .sueing Mr. Thomas Wythe Sr. deft, for £11 16s. sterling for % of vrorke done for ye deft, who also produces an % for ye same worke rated in tobacco, and saythe that tobacco is only due according to agreement, it is ordered that in case ye pit. cannot prove his agreement ■with ye deft, for money due for ye said worke, that then the deft, be allowed to make oath to his % the same as due in tobacco." Records of Elizabeth City Co^mty, vol. 1084-1699, p. 7, Va. State Library.

3 Norwood's Voyage to Virginia, p. 50, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. IIL

MONEY 507

was to be found in Virginia at this time was most probably in possession of men who held ofticial positions, positions wliich gave them an opportunity of acquiring whatever money sterling had been paid by the merchants and ship- masters. It is remarkable how small is the amount of coin appearing among the items of inventories even as late as 1670. Even where an estate was equal in value to several thousand dollars, it is exceptional if we find a few shillings. Among the few instances preserved in the records of the county courts were those of Robert Glas- cock of Lower Norfolk, whose inventory included two pounds and a half in coin ; ^ Mrs. Elizabeth Bushrod of York, who left at her death seven pounds sterling in the same form,^ and John Nilkson of the same county, who left only two pounds. ^ Francis Wheeler, Avhose personal property when he died was valued at X1123, bequeathed in coin only four pounds and a few shillings.* By 1670, it had become extremely common to draw specialties in money sterling, but it is doubtful whether on maturing they were paid in this medium, the wording being only a precaution against the fluctuations in the value of tobacco. Again, in 1680, the General Assembly were careful to prescribe the legal rates of the money sterling in circula- tion in Virginia. The French coin was estimated at six dollars ; the piece of eight at six shillings, an advance of one shilling on its value as legal tender previous to the middle of the century ; half -pieces of eight at three shil- lings, and one-quarter pieces at eighteen pence. The New England coin was to be held at one shilling. As no reference is made in this table to Virginian coins, it is to

^ Becords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1640-1651, f. p. 46. 2 Becords of York County, vol. 1675-1684, p. 338, Va. State Library. 8 Ibid., vol. 1694-1007, p. 16. * Ibid., vol. 1657-1662, p. 197.

508 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

be presumed that the provisions of the law of 16-i-i for striking off a local metallic currency ^ had not been car- ried into effect.^ We find at this time that the General Assembly petitioned the King for permission to enhance the value of all the coins imported into the Colony to an extent represented by one-fourth of their face value ; in other words, that body desired to obtain authority to rate a coin equal, let us say, to one dollar in our modern cur- rency, at one dollar and a quarter, and havmg by the mere stroke of the pen given this arbitrary value, to compel all persons to whom it was offered, to receive it under threat of severe punishment. ^

Two years later, Lord Culpeper, for his own private profit, began to claim the right as the representative of the King to fix the value of money sterling by proclamation. He was accused of having obtained a great quantity of pieces of eight at a low figure and of then compelling the soldiers who still remained in the Colony after the sup- pression of Bacon's Insurrection, to receive their wages in this coin, which he had raised to the value of six shillings apiece. The prescription worked both ways. Culpeper finding that he was losing heavily, inasmuch as his perqui- sites were settled in money sterling at this rate, issued a second proclamation restoring the former standard of five shillings.*

How small was the quantity of money sterling in the Colony as late as 1685 is shown in the memorable reply of the Burgesses in that year when called upon by How- ard, who was acting under instructions from England, to

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. T, p. 308.

2 Bandolph 3ISS., vol. Ill, p. 398.

3 Council and Burgesses to the King, British State Papers, Colonial, July 26, 1681 ; Sainsbjiry Abstracts for 1681, p. 106, Va. State Library.

•* Beverley's History of Virginia, p. 7-4.

MONEY 509

pay their quit-rents in coin instead of in tobacco, ac- cording to the rule which had prevailed for so great a length of time. They boldly declared that it was impos- sible to obey such an order. Not only was money ster- ling entirely lacking, but it could not be procured from England, the laws of that kingdom prohibiting its expor- tation. ^ The people of Virginia, although they had been enduring the evil condition springing from a dearth of coin for so long a period, seemed unable to accustom them- selves to the inconveniences it caused in such a variety of ways. In 1686, the Governor and Council drew up a petition to the King, in which he was asked with great earnestness to grant the authorities of the Colony the right to advance pieces of eight, French crowns, and other foreign money beyond their intrinsic worth. It was an- ticipated that the merchants engaged in the tobacco trade Avould be tempted by this increase in rating to import large quantities of coin in order to secure the margin of profit which would thus be created between the arbitrary and the real value of the metal.

The proposition of the Council was submitted to the Commissioners of Customs in England for an opinion as to the expediency of accepting it. Their reply was in many respects a memorable one, and deserves perhaps to be pondered even in the present age. They took the ground that "no rate ought to be set upon money ster- ling other than according to its real intrinsic value and worth ;" and they further declared, "that the proposition, if carried out, would be a great hindrance to trade, and instead of a general advantage, conduce only to the ad- vantage of some particular persons, who, being in debt,

1 Address of Burgesses to Howard, October, 1685, British State Papers, Colonial; McDonald Papers, vol. VII, p. 340, Va. State Library.

510 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

would by this means gain an opportunity of defrauding their creditors."^ This was striking language to hold in the seventeenth century, when, on account of the failure to recognize money sterling as a simple commodity like iron and wheat, a general belief prevailed that it was perfectly consistent with economic laws to disregard the intrinsic worth of coin and to place upon it any value that mistaken notions as to the true interests of the peo- ple suggested. The proposition of the Council, which the Commissioners passed upon so justly, was doubtless made at the instigation of Howard, who had been specially instructed by the English Government to refrain from altering the metallic currency of Virginia unless he should receive distinct authority to do so from the King.^

The authors of the Present State of Virginia, 1697, have thrown important light on the condition of the Col- ony in the last decade of the century with reference to money sterling. From this pamphlet, it is learned that the piece of eight was valued at this time at five shillings by law. No weight for the coin was prescribed, and in consequence frequent occasion was taken by private per- sons to reject it on the ground that it was so light that it could not be good silver, or if good silver, that it had been clipped. From this fact, it is to be inferred that the intrinsic worth of the j)iece of eight was not generally considered equal to five shillings. No attempt was made to ascertain by legislative enactment the current value of other coins of foreign as distinguished from English origin. The quantity of English money in circulation

1 Report of Commissioners of Customs, April 30, 1687, Colonial Entry Book, Virginia, No. 83 ; McDonald Papers, vol. VII, pp. 107, 108, Va. State Library.

2 Commission to Howard, 1683, clause 75, British State Papers, Colo- nial ; McDonald Papers, vol. VI, p. 264, Va. State Library.

MONEY 511

was extremely small, which would seem to indicate that the pieces of eight, the Peruvian pieces, and the crowns had been imported almost wholly from the West Indies. Even these coins did not remain very long in the Colony, if the testimony of the authors of the Present State of Virginia, 1697, can be accepted. Pennsylvania had adopted an order that pieces of eight of twelve penny- weight should pass current as equal to five shillings, and in the same proportion, pieces of eight of an increased weight. As the most valuable piece of eight was ascer- tained in Virginia at five shillings, and in Maryland at four shillings and six pence, there was created a tendency in this coin to flow from the two Colonies just mentioned to Pennsylvania, where it could be disposed of as an ordi- nary commodity at a profit, in one instance of a shilling and in another of a shilling and a half.^

The lack of coin in Virginia at this time was by some attributed to the action of the Governor, who found it to his interest, it was said, to encourage the use of tobacco as money because it enabled him to receive his salary in the form of bills of exchange which could be transmitted to England with more facility and safety than the metals. He objected quite naturally to the payment of what was due him in pieces of eight, at the wholly arbitrary valuation of five shillings. As soon as he forwarded them to Eng- land, these coins would have been credited to him at their true worth, to his very serious damage. The Governor Avas probably in large part paid in tobacco received for quit-rents, this being delivered to him at a more reason- able rate than he could have secured it in the open mar- ket. He was also a purchaser of the same commodity procured from the same source on terms equally to his

1 Hartwell, Chilton, and Blair's Present State of Virginia, 1697, p. 14. See, also, Palmer's Calendar of Virginia State Papers, vol. I, p. 53.

512 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

advantage. For one hundred pounds of it, for instance, he was required to pay only four shillings and six pence; he could not only dispose of it at a handsome profit, but, obtained at so low a price, he was enabled to buy all of his supplies practically at half rates. The example set by the Governor in discouraging the use of money ster- ling was followed by the Auditor-General in receiving from the collectors the amount which they were called upon to turn over to him, and by the collectors in receiv- ing the duties which were paid by the merchants on tobacco exported by them and on certain articles which they im- ported. The authors of the Present State of Virginia, 1697, declare that the influence of the example of these officials extended to the people in their mutual transac- tions in business, but this statement is open to serious doubt, since to follow their example did not coincide with the popular interests. The expressed sentiment of the colonists is, moreover, in conflict with it.^

In a series of proposals drawn in the autumn of 1697 for submission to the House of Burgesses by leading citi- zens of Accomac, it was asserted emphatically that money sterling was the most convenient agency in carrying on trade and commerce, and that its absence discouraged men in every walk of life because it compelled them to wait or sell upon credit, which frequently terminated in a total loss. For this reason, it was stated to be of the highest importance that all coins should bear a fixed value. The petitioners, thereforS urged upon the attention of the Burgesses the necessity of laying down the rates at which all money sterling except that of English mintage should pass as current in Virginia. Unless steps were taken to put this suggestion into practical operation, the small amount in circulation in the Colony, the petitioners pre-

1 Hartwell, Chilton, and Blair's Present State of Virginia, 1C97, p. 13.

MONEY 513

dieted, would be drawn away to the provinces where the coins had an ascertained value, i The suggestion seems to have been adopted either immediately or at a later date, for when Beverley wrote his History, the value of all money sterling in use in Virginia had been fixed by law. Besides coins of English origin, there were coins which had come from the mints of Arabia, France, Portugal, Spain, and Spanish America. Both gold and silver were represented. The silver coin bearing the stamp of France, Spain, or Por- tugal was appraised at three pence and three farthings a pennyweight. The gold coin of these countries and also of Arabia was valued at five shillings a pennyweight. The English guinea passed current at twenty-six shillings and English silver at an advance of two pence in every shilling. Old English coin was rated in proportion to its weight. ^

It is significant to find that among the different kinds of money sterling in circulation in the counties on the Eastern Shore was the lion or dog dollar, as it was called, from the device on its face. This was perhaps a Dutch coin which had obtained a furtive admission into the Col- ony by the smuggling traffic, which, in spite of the Navi- gation laws, was carried on between the people of those countries and the merchants of Holland. Its presence in Virginia as late as 1696 was the strongest evidence of the continuation of this illicit commerce. In the course of that year, a petition was presented by the planters of Accomac to their representatives in the House of Bur- gesses, to be delivered to that body when it assembled, asking that a legal value be set upon the lion or dog dollar, in order that it might be used to advantage in current business transactions.^

1 Palmer's Calendar of Virginia State Papers, vol. I, p. 53.

2 Beverley's History of Virginia, p. 230.

3 Palmer's Calendar of Virginia State Papers, vol. I, p. 52. In Records

VOL. II. — 2 L

514 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

The instances in which coin formed a part of a testa- tor's estate were more frequent in the last decade of the century than they had been previously. Mrs. Katherine Thorp of York, who died in the course of this period, left six pounds sterling in gold and thirteen pounds in silver. ^ The estate of Nathaniel Branker of Lower Norfolk in- cluded four pounds sterling in silver and one pound in gold. 2 It is stated in the inventory of William Porteas of Lower Norfolk that he had among his effects nineteen pounds sterling, a large sum when it is remembered that his personal estate did not exceed six hundred and sixty- six pounds ; ^ the only instance comparable with this was that of William Knibbe of Henrico, who had collected enough coin to fill one-half of a small cabinet, his object, however, being to meet the cost of a trip to England.^ Robert Lightenhouse of York, whose personalty was ap- praised at seventy-two pounds sterling, bequeathed four- teen pounds in metallic money. ^

A large quantity of the money sterling that was now left at the deaths of planters was of foreign origin. Thus in the personalty of William Knott of Lower Norfolk there were fourteen pounds sterling in Spanish money and three Arabian gold pieces.^ John Morrah bequeathed eleven shillings in English money, two shillings in New

of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1695-1703, p. 151, there is this reference to bits: "Watching on board the sloop Content from Oct. 19, 1697, to Nov. 12, 1697, is twenty two days and nights at 3 bitts per day, and 3 bitts per night comes to 4£ 2^^ 6<i."

1 liecords of York ConnPj, vol. 1694-1G97, p. 193, Va. State Library.

2 Becord- of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1686-1695, f. p. 17.

3 Ibid., original vol. 1695-1703, p. 36.

* Becords of Henrico County, vol. 1677-1692, p. 101, Va. State Li- brary.

5 Becords of York County, vol. 1694-1702, p. 387, Va. State Library.

6 Records of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1695-1703, f. p. 95.

MONEY 515

England, and five pieces of eight ; ^ Thomas Teackle of Acconiac, four pounds sterling in Spanish coin ;2 Tliomas Tomson of Lancaster, five pounds ; ^ and Jacob Walker of Elizabeth City, twenty-one.* The inventory of Peter Cartwright included twenty-three pounds sterling in Span- ish coin, an Arabian gold piece, and half a gold pistole. Among the effects of William Chichester of the same county were eight pounds sterling and four lion dollars.^

The increase in the volume of coin in circulation by the end of the century is shown in the vast number of specialties which at this time were made payable in money sterling, a precaution which meant, in many cases, that onl}' the amount of tobacco representing the figures named should be delivered, but more frequently that the specialties were to be carried out as they stood, the person under bond being required to meet his obligation in specie. The only preference allowed him was the alternative of settling in English or Spanish money. ^ It was directed

1 Becords of Bappahannock County, vol. 1677-1682, p. 16, Va. State Library.

2 Becords of Accomac County, original vol. 1692-1715, p. 140.

3 Becords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1690-1709, p. 59.

* Becords of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1684-1699, p. 489, Va. State Library.

^ Becords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1695-1703, f. p. 106 ; Ihid., Chiclie.ster, p. 150. Fitzhugh, writing to Colonel Brent under date of Feb. 25, 1687, said, "I send you by this messenger one guinea and twelve pieces of eight." Letters of William Fitzhugh. Fitzhugh speaks of this as being his entire stock of ready money except one piece of eight.

6 Becords of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1684-1699, p. 100, Va. State Library. The debt was sometimes required to be paid in New England coin, as the following instance preserved in Becords of Middlesex County, original vol. 1673-1685, p. 135, shows : "Judgment granted to John Pick- worth, Benj. Pickworth and Richard Hudson against Mrs. Margaret Bridge, administratrix of Mr. Francis Bridge, for ye sum of 43£ 16^^ New England money, together with interest for said money according to ye obligation-"

516 ECONOMIC HISTOKY OF VIRGINIA

that personal estates should be sold for tobacco or coin as convenience should dictate to the executor. ^ Contracts for work to be paid for in money sterling alone were now drawn and strictly enforced by courts of law when appeal was made to them.^ Coin was also the considera- tion in the sales of land.^

No financial device played a more important role in the internal and external trade of the Colony than the bill of exchange. This instrument was only used when the party who gave it had a balance to his credit in the hands of some merchant, the drawee being generally a person of this call- ing who resided in England, New England, Barbadoes, or in one of the other English Colonies. Illustrations of the ordinary circumstances under which bills of exchange were passed may be offered. A foreign or native trader who was engaged in buying and selling Virginian tobacco purchased a large quantity of this commodity ; instead of making payment in some form of merchandise or in money sterling, he delivered a bill of exchange drawn on a mer- chant who lived in England or in one of the Colonies, as the case might be. This manner of settling indebted- ness was peculiarly agreeable to the planters who had direct dealings with these outside countries, as it placed a large sum to their credit in the very place where they were in the habit of buying goods. The person receiving the bill transmitted it to his own correspondent in Eng- land, New England, or Barbadoes, with instructions to collect it and devote the sum of money sterling thus

1 Becorcls of York County, orders for Oct. 2, 1692, Va. State Library.

•^ Becorcls of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1684-1699, p. 8, Va. State Library.

3 It is worthy of note, however, that when land at this time was sold for tobacco, the expression "sum of so many pounds of tobacco" was generally used. See Records of BappaJiannock County, vol. 1671-1676, p. 338 ; vol. 1663-1668, p. 35.

MONEY 517

obtained to the purchase of such commodities as he might designate, or he directed that his correspondent should hold it subject to future orders. The correspond- ent thus became his banker. It was also common for a planter, in forwarding his hogsheads of tobacco, to accom- pany them with bills equal in value to his interest in the cargo, drawn on the consignee, who was ordered to return in the form of goods the sum represented. If the price of the articles as a whole exceeded the aggregate amount of the bills, an abatement was made in the order, or the deficiency was covered by a second shipment of tobacco. The planter would not infrequently draw a bill of ex- change on the merchant in England in whose hands a balance remained to his credit, for the purpose of settling a difference in his account with a second English mer- chant. It happened very often that the Virginian, instead of sending wheat or tobacco to the Northern Provinces, forwarded to a correspondent residing there, bills of ex- change made payable in England or the West Indies, these bills having been delivered to him by merchants or planters in the Colony with whom he had had business transactions, or having been drawn by himself ; they were honored by their exchange for what he needed, the corre- spondent relying upon their soundness when presented to the persons named as drawees. This was an ordinary illustration of the part which a bill of exchange played in the economic life of Virginia. It may have passed through a dozen hands in the Colony, like a piece of coin, before coming into the possession of the last holder. It then made the long voyage to New England. There it may have gone through many additional hands in succession before it was transmitted to England or the West Indies for acceptance by the merchant who was the drawee from the besfinnino:.

518 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

The bill of exchange was drawn m general in the form of three duplicates, one of which, the first, second, or third, apparently without discrimination, was very often entered on record in the county in which the bill itself was given. It was to be met twenty, thirty, or forty days or even longer after presentation to the drawee. It could be transferred, being made payable to order. i As the risk of protest was always present, it is not surprising to find that precautions were taken to ensure the payment of the amounts represented in bills of exchange by requiring the delivery of collateral security. The local government, when it first imposed a duty of two shillings on each hogs- head exported, was careful to provide that if paid for in bills of exchange, these bills should be fully protected. In private transactions, the security most frequently consisted of a bond in which the person delivering the bill bound himself to pay double the amount set down in it in the event that the document was protested. In some cases, the security was a recorded assignment of the servants, slaves, cattle, and tobacco in the possession of the drawer, and this was to be made final if the bill was dishonored.^

There is much evidence to show that the bills of ex- change were in many instances protested. The cargo on which they were based sometimes miscarried or after its arrival in England remained unsalable, or perhaps the con- signee proved bankrupt or was unscrupulous in his busi- ness life. The return of such documents occasioned such serious damage even in some cases in which they had been

1 Eecords of York County, vol. 1G71-1694, p. 152, Va. State Library ; Becords of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1684-1699, pp. 291, 337, Va. State Library. In one case, sixteen separate bills of exchange were recorded together in Becords of Lancaster County, original vol. 1666-1682, pp. 147. This was in 1671.

2 An instance of security in the form of a bond will be found in Becords of Rappahannock County, vol. 16(i8-1672, p. 54.

MONEY 519

secured by the conditional assignment of property in the Colony to the persons in whose favor they were drawn, that the General Assembly determined to impose a heavy penalty upon the drawer of a bill, although he might be able to show that the default of the drawee in England or whatever country the latter might reside in was altogether unjustified. He was required to pay the creditor not only the amount of the protested bill, but also thirty per cent in excess of it. He was, however, allowed, whenever the drawee had ample funds in his hands to meet the call upon him, to secure from any property in Virginia belonging to the drawee the amount which he, the drawer, Jiad been compelled to pay both in principal and damages to the creditor.! It was found that the interests of the Colony suffered from the high percentage at which the losses resulting from protested bills were rated, and the pro- portion once recoverable on this account was lowered to fifteen per cent. This penalty was strictly enforced and no alteration was suffered to be made in it by private agreement, even for the advantage of the creditor. In 1670, John Hungerford of York delivered to Mrs. Eliza- beth Napier bills of exchange amounting to nine pounds sterling which he had drawn on an English merchant and bound himself in damages to the extent of thirty per cent in case they were returned rejected. Under the law, his responsibility was restricted to fifteen per cent;^ the court, therefore, decided that Hungerford was only answerable in this degree when the bills were sent back dishonored. He had, however, to pay the charges of pro- test and the costs of the suit.^

If the drawer of the protested bill was not to be found when he was sought in order to enforce his liability for its

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 171. 2 j^jd^ p, 243.

^ Becords of York County, vol. 1G04-1G72, p. 450, Va. State Library.

520 ECONOMIC HISTORY OP VIRGINIA

amount and the damages, process of attachment was issued against his estate in case he owned any property in the Colony. 1 In order to avoid the possibility of a bill which had been paid being presented for payment the second time, when the receipt perhaps had been lost, or the original par- ties to the document or the witness of the transaction which it represented had died, it was provided that suit upon such a bill must be brought before three years had expired since its passage, unless it had been renewed within that interval, or had been placed on record in the books of the General Court at Jamestown or in the county in which the debtor had resided or still lived.^ At a session of the General Assembly held several years later, it was enacted that the right of suit on a bill should not extend beyond live years beyond its date unless the debtor had left Vir- ginia, thus rendering it impossible to renew the document. The validity of a judgment obtained upon a protested note was not to last longer than five years, unless the debtor by departing from the Colony had put it out of the power of the holder of the bill to enforce it against him.^

The only forms of money which it still remains to touch upon are roanoke and wampumpeke. These had a legal circulation in the Colony, having come down from the aborigines.* The references to roanoke are most frequent in the records of such outlying counties as Accomac and Rappahannock. It seems to have been measured by an arm's length, and was not infrequently paid out to the Indians along with match-coats for services performed by them for the public good.^ It was occasionally found

1 Becords of Elizabeth City County, vol. 1684-1699, p. 1, Va. State Library.

2 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 390. ^ /jj-^^,^ p. 434. 4 /^jcZ., p. 397. 5 Becords of Accomac County, original vol. 1663-1666, p. 94 ; see also

Becords of General Court, p. 169.

MONEY 621

constituting a part of an estate. ^ The references to wam- pumpeke are comparatively few.^ The use of beaver as a currency appears to have been most common on the Eastern Sliore, where eight pounds in 1637 was valued at one hun- dred and sixty pounds of tobacco. It was also the subject of specialty.^

1 Records of Bappahannock County, vol. 1677-1682, p. 44; Ihid., vol. 1656-1664, p. 57, Va. State Library.

2 Becords of Accomac County, original vol. 1632-1640, pp. 19, 95.

3 Ihid., p. 24. Beaver and moose skins were legal tender in Canada about 1669 and 1674. See Weeden's Social and Economic History of New England, vol. I, p. 325. Rliode Island at one time made wool a standard of value. Ibid., vol. I, p. 328,

CHAPTER XX

THE TOWN

In the account which I have given so far of the economic condition of the people of Virginia in the seventeenth cen- tury, it will have been seen that the general system of colonial life rested upon the plantation as the centre, and not, as in New England, upon the township. A just concep- tion of its whole economic framework may be acquired by an investigation of the character of a single large planta- tion, whether that plantation was situated on the Potomac or the York, the Rappahannock or the James. Each com- ponent part of the community, that is, each plantation, was in itself a complete reflection of the entire community, whether bounded by the lines of one neighborhood or the whole Colony. The community was a series of plantations which were only locally distinguished from each other. In all essential particulars, they were practically the same. The plantation is of the first and highest importance in the study of the general system. As tobacco culture tended irresistibly to promote the constant expansion of the area of each plantation, by compelling the appropria- tion of virgin lands either by patent or purchase, the economic dependence of plantation on plantation was always growing weaker until, as the logical conclusion of the process, the owners were finally able to rely exclu- sively on the supplies, natural and manufactured, furnished by their own land, or by the foreign merchant. This local 522

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isolation, this economic freedom, was thoroughly antago- nistic to the concentration of population at different places in the Colony in the form of towns. The plantation was a small principality, the number of inhabitants of which was not in proportion to the extent of the property to which they were attached. The dependence of the servants and slaves upon their master was increased by the distance which lay between them and the settlements of the adjacent plantations, and the same fact increased the importance of the planter himself. It is easily perceived that the inde- pendence of his life, an independence extending to every branch of his affairs, social and economic, would have culti- vated in him a strong distaste for the confined existence of residents in cities, which he had either observed when visit- ing England, or had been informed of through books or by travellers. Accustomed to the freedom of his own fields, woods, and streams, assured of the absolute subservience of the whole population of his plantation, with no neighbors of his own class sufficiently near to disturb his sense of local supremacy, with a firm conviction derived from practical experience that the main product of his soil com- pelled him to be always widening the area which he cultivated, with an inclination, moreover, for agricultural pursuits inherited from his English forefathers, confirmed and strengthened by all the conditions of his situation, it is natural that he should have exhibited no disposition to drift towards the life of towns. Indeed, it would have been remarkable if the gravitation had not been in the other direction.

I have already dwelt upon the effect of this tendency in discouraging the grov/th of the cooperative spirit among the planters. As the sense of personal independence increased, an inevitable result of the plantation life, the disinclination of the individual to combine with other individuals of the

524 ECONOMIC HISTORY OP VIRGINIA

same class for the accomplishment of common economic purposes became more marked. This spirit not only ob- structed the systematic advance of manufactures, but it also prevented the erection of towns. So powerful was the tendency towards the concentration of all economic inter- ests in the plantation, and so weak was the disposition of the planters to cooperate in their economic affairs, that even had Virginia in the seventeenth century possessed but one harbor to which all vessels engaged in transporting to the other Colonies and to Europe the tobacco produced in its soil had been compelled to resort in order to secure their cargoes, it is doubtful whether even then the absence of towns would have been less marked. There would have been a small concentration of population at that point, but not in proportion to the economic importance of the spot. Instead of there being one harbor, as suggested hypotheti- cally, there were almost as many harbors as plantations. In the seventeenth century, as has been observed already, the area included in the patents was confined principally to the lands which were situated immediately on the navigable streams. The number of these streams was extraordinary. Beginning with the Powhatan, York, Rappahannock, and Potomac, there were, at comparatively short intervals, rivers, creeks, or estuaries deep enough to float the largest ships employed in the carrying trade between Virginia and England. At that early period, every planter owned a wharf; indeed the strongest reason after fertility of soil which influenced him in selecting a tract of land was that it 'fronted on a water highway. Even if the stream was not sufficiently deep to afford room for the keel of a large vessel, it gave free passage to the shallops in which the planter's tobacco could be conveyed to the place where the ship was lying at anchor. With these facilities at his own door for moving his crop to market, there was nothing to

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be gained by transporting it either across country or by water to some far-off point which might have been fixed upon by kw as a port of entry. There was not tlie slight- est justification for such a course of action in any advan- tage which it might secure. On the contrary, every interest of the planter was opposed to it. There was a risk attend- ing the shipment for a long distance in the shallop to be incurred, as well as the increased freight charges to be paid. By rolling his hogsheads directly on board of a sea- going vessel which had dropped anchor at his own wharf, or only a few miles away, he not only escaped all the per- ils to which his crop would have been exposed if conveyed for a distance in a frail boat heavily loaded, but he also retained the amount which he would otherwise have been compelled to expend in freight. The charge for trans- portation from his own wharf to England was the same as the charge from Jamestown or any other authorized port of entry. The cost of hiring a shallop was saved, or the inconvenience and loss of valuable time entailed in send- ing his servants and slaves in his own boats avoided.

The presence of a navigable stream near every planta- tion not only furnished its owner with a convenient high- way for the removal of his tobacco to market, but it also enabled him to secure his imported supplies without the expense, inconvenience, or delay of sending for them be- yond the bounds of his own estate. The ship could unload its cargo at his wharf, and there, too, he made his purchases or received the articles consigned to him by his English merchant.

The only place in Virginia previous to 1700 to which the name of a town could, with any degree of appropriate- ness, be applied, was Jamestown, and even this settlement never rose to a dignity superior to that of a village. The first structure bearing a resemblance to a house erected on

526 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

that site was the wooden fort which the adventurers began to build as soon as they had established themselves on land. The earliest dwellings were merely thatched cabins con- structed with extraordinary rapidity under the energetic direction of Smith.^ It is most probable that in deciding upon the relative situations of houses, the instructions of the Council brought over by the colonists were strictly followed. These instructions required that the dwellings should be set evenly upon a line on either side of the street, and that each street was to debouch into one central market square. The Council gave this direction in order that from one point all the streets might be commanded by field ordnance. ^ As soon as Captain Newport arrived with the First Supply, in the winter of 1607, he employed his men in erecting a storehouse and a church.^ The entire group of houses appears to have been surrounded by a stockade. It was not long before a great fire broke out in the town, and as the dwellings were thatched with reeds, they soon fell a prey to the flames, which raged so fiercely that even the palisades standing a little distance away were entirely consumed. The arms, apparel, bed- ding, and a large quantity of provisions held in private ownership were destroyed. Mr. Hunt, the minister, also lost his collection of books.* The rebuilding of the town did not begin until the spring, at which time the work was undertaken under the supervision of Smith and Scriv- ener.^ The erection of the second church and storehouse does not seem to have been completed before September. The church was like a barn in appearance, the base being

1 Works of Capt. John Smith, p. 392.

2 Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 84.

8 Wingfield's Discourse, Works of Capt. John Sinith, Introduction, p. Ixxxvi.

* Works of Capt. John Smith, p. 407 5 Ibid., pp. 408, 409.

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supported by crotchets, while the top was composed of rafts, sedge, and earth. The walls were made of the same rude materials.! The houses were also of similar composi- tion and afforded onl}^ a frail protection against the wind and rain. Water was procured from a well which had been dug in one of the forts. The whole town was de- fended by twenty-four pieces of ordnance mounted on platforms and commanding an unobstructed view. In the early part of 1609, twenty additional houses were built at Jamestown. When Smith withdrew from Virginia in the fall of 1609, the town contained sixty houses.^

On Delaware's arrival in the Colony in the following year he found the dwellings in the extreme of decay. The town was described as having the appearance of a fortifica- tion which the action of time had overthrown. The pali- sades were prostrate on the ground, the gates were fallen from their hinges, and the church was sunk in ruin.^ The buildings, it would seem, had been very unsubstantial in their construction, or the dampness of the climate had rotted the material of which they were made. -Both in- fluences were doubtless at work to produce the transforma- tion, a transformation, we may remark, which was again frequently noted in the character of the town in its subse- quent history. The structures put up in one j^ear were in a state of decay before barely twelve months had elapsed, and in a few years were in a condition of complete ruin. This was illustrated in the most marked degree in the early history of Jamestown, but continued to be true of the place until the site of the town was abandoned.

One of the first steps taken by Delaware on assuming

1 Works of Capt. John Smith, pp. 471, 957.

2 Ibid., pp. 471, 48(3, 612.

^ Council in Virginia to the London Company, Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 405.

528 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

control of the affairs of Jamestown, was to build a num- ber of houses which are described as well protected against the encroachments of the severest weather. Their roofs were covered with boards and the sides of some were de- fended by Indian mats;^ and yet in spite of the apparently substantial character of these dwellings, Sir Thomas Dale, when he reached Jamestown in the following year, after Delaware had been forced by bad health to withdraw from the Colou}^, was compelled to order the inhabitants to re- pair the church and storehouse at once, for fear that if this was longer deferred, the roofs and walls would tumble down on their heads.^ He was not content with rebuild- ing the old structures at Jamestown and adding to their number a munition house, a house in which to cure stur- geon, a cattle-barn, and stable ; ^ after some time devoted to a search for a site, he decided besides to establish a town on the neck of land which has in a more recent period been changed into an island by the digging of the Dutch Gap Canal. Here he first enclosed a plat of seven acres, rais- ing at each corner a watch-tower. He then built a wooden church and several storehouses and laid off three streets, on the line of which framed dwellings were erected, with the first story of brick. Five houses were also built upon the verge of the river, and these were occupied by tenants who acted as sentinels for the approaches to the town by water. The erection of a hospital to contain four score rooms and beds seems to have been begun. According to Hamor, Henricopolis, the name given to the new town in honor of Prince Henry, presented at the end of four months

1 Works of Capt. John Smith, pp. 502, 503.

2 Ibid., p. 507 ; Ralph Hamor's Tnie Discourse, p. 26 ; Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 492.

3 Brown's Genesis of the United States, p. 492 ; Neill's Virginia Vetusta, p. 81.

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a more substantial aspect than Jamestown. Nevertheless, the new settlement soon showed the same symptoms of de- cline as the earlier one ; the buildings began to decay, and during the five years that followed were only preserved by constant repairing. At the end of that time they appeared to have fallen into hopeless ruin. The brick church wliiuh Dale proposed to erect at Henrico never rose above its foundations, and even the foundations remained unfin- ished. It Avas designed to be one hundred feet in length and fifty in width.^ In the meanwhile. Sir Thomas Gates, who had returned to Virginia, had expended much time and labor in increasing the number of the houses at James- town. Under his direction and supervision, two rows of framed buildings were constructed on either side of a reg- ular street, these buildings being two stories in height, with a loft in which corn should be deposited. There were also three storehouses, which really formed one structure, with a breadth of forty feet and a length of one hundred and twenty. The whole town was enclosed in a paling. At the East End there was a platform for ord- nance. A bridge was also built to connect the island with the mainland. There were situated outside of the fenced area several houses which Hamor described as pleasant and beautiful, but which were probably only so by contrast with the dwellings within. To these are to be added two block and a number of farm houses.^

The passage of a few years produced the same changes previously observed ; indeed, it was now admitted that unless the houses and cabins were annually repaired they

1 For these details, see Ralph Hamor's True Discmtrf:e, p. 30 ; N'eio Life of Virginia, p. 14, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. I ; Colonial liecords of Virginia, State Senate Doct., Extra, p. 75.

2 Hamor's True Discourse, p. 33; Royal Hist. MSS- Commission, Eighth Report, p. 42.

VOL. II. — 2 M

530 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

would fail into ruin. In spite of the substantial condi- tion of Jamestown in 1614, it had been reduced by the time of Argoll's arrival, in 1617, to five or six buildings. The church had tumbled to the ground, the palisade had been broken, the bridge had gone to decay. One of the few structures remaining intact was the residence of the Governor.^ Argoll took possession of this dwelling and afterwards enlarged it. A church fifty feet in length and twenty feet in breadth was built during the course of his brief administration, the inhabitants of Jamestown assum- ing the entire expense entailed by its erection. ^ No other house was constructed during the period of his control. The bounds of the corporation of Jamestown at this time, in addition to the whole of the island, included that part of the mainland situated on the east side of Argolltown, which probably lay opposite to Jamestown immediately on the back river ; the neck of land on the north point, more- over, as far as the end of Archer's Hope ; Hog Island, and the country to the south as far as Tappahannock.^

When Yeardley arrived in Virginia in 1619, not only was Jamestown in a state of great decay, but Henrico also and the adjacent settlements. There were at Henrico a few houses, all of which had gone to ruin. The church was in the last stage of dilapidation. The condition of the dwellings at Coxendale and Arrahattock resembled that of the houses at Henrico and Jamestown. There were also six houses at Charles City in ruin.* The activ- ity displayed by Yeardley under the guidance of the

1 Works of Capt. John Smith, pp. 535, 536.

2 Briefe Declaration of the Plantation of Virginia, Colonial Becords of Virginia, State Senate Doct., Extra, p. 80.

3 This was Tappahannock on the Powhatan ; Abstracts of Proceedings of the Virginia Company of London, vol. II, p. 37.

* Briefe Declaration of the Plantation of Virginia, Colonial Records of Virginia, State Senate Doct., Extra, p. 80.

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persons who were now administering the affairs of the Company soon produced an improvement in the aspect of Jamestown ; so many houses were erected, that by 1623 the number to be found there was quadruple the number in existence only five years earlier, and these houses were far superior to the latter in the character of their material and construction. It would appear that an inn had not yet been built, although sawyers had been engaged a short time before the massacre in preparing plank for such a structure. Sawyers had also been employed in securing timber for the construction of a palisade and Court of Guard.i

There have survived a number of deeds, recorded dur- ing the administration of Governor Wyatt, conveying title to plats of ground in the Corporation of Jamestown, which afford us a glimpse of the different ownerships at that time in the ground on which the town was situ- ated. The residence of Governor Yeardley stood in the most extensive lot, the area within his enclosure being seven acres. There were four acres in the lot of Captain Roger Smith. The lot of Ralph Warnet, a prominent merchant, covered an acre and a half. The immediate neighbors of Warnet were George Menefie, Richard Ste- vens, and John Chew, who were also engaged in mercan- tile pursuits. The lot of Captain Ralph Haraor lay some distance from these properties.^ The houses occupied by these citizens were built entirely of wood. The popula- tion of the town and corporation in February, 1623, was calculated at one hundred and eighty-two.^

1 Governor Wyatt to John Ferrer, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. II, Xo. 26 ; Samshury Abstracts for 1623, p. 80, Va. State Library.

2 Va. Land Patents, vol. 1623-1643, p. 5.

3 List of the Living and Dead in Virginia, 1623, Colonial Becords of Virginia, State Senate Doct., Extra, p. 41.

532 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

Among the rules adopted in 1623 for the improvement of affairs in Virginia, was one requiring that all towns to be erected in future in the Colony should be built in the neighborhood of each other, this provision being suggested b}^ the massacre of the previous year, which had been ren- dered more deadly in consequence of the fact that the different settlements were situated far apart, and so, in that terrible emergency, unable to afford any assistance to each other. The towns referred to were to be collec- tions of farm-houses rather than towns in the ordinary sense of the word. The great mortality prevailing in Virginia in 1623 perhaps occasioned the further provi- sion, that in choosing sites for towns and dwelling-houses only spots remarkable for their healthfulness should be chosen.i The same year was rendered still more notable as the date of the earliest of the orders passed to compel every ship arriving in Virginian waters to proceed to Jamestown without breaking the bulk of its cargo before reaching that place. The Governors of the Colony after the revocation of the charter of the Company were for many years successively instructed to enforce this regula- tion. The effect anticipated was not only that an end would be put to the habit of forestalling imported sup- plies, but also that the population of that place would be increased owing to the extension of the opportunities for employment.

The practical operation of these laws in time excited great discontent, and the committee in England in charge of the affairs of the Plantations was in 1638 earnestly petitioned to express disapproval of them. One of the principal grounds upon which they were opposed was that there were no houses at Jamestown in which either to- bacco or goods could be stored. The sub-committee, in

1 British State Papers, Colonial., vol. II, No. 35.

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its report on these objections, which were submitted for a decision, expressed the warmest approval of the regula- tion itself, but recommended its temporary suspension for the reason that the public storehouse at Jamestown had fallen into ruin and the private storehouses were too few in number to furnish room for the goods landed by the merchants. It was recommended in addition that the Governor should encourage citizens of the Colony to build warehouses for the purpose of renting them to members of this class.^ The authorities in Virginia appear to have disregarded this order suspending the law, because they were irritated, partly by the insolence of the shipmasters, who openly boasted of their power to do away with any regulation which obstructed their freedom in trading, and partly by a desire to prevent forestalling. Commenting on the report of the sub-committee, the Governor and Council declared that there was but one way of encour- aging the building of towns, namely, by confining the local trade to certain points, as this would compel mer- chants and mechanics to establish themselves there in pursuit of their special branches of business. The order of the Lords Commissioners suspending the requirement that all ships should proceed to Jamestown until store- houses had been erected at that place, had, it was claimed by the Governor and Council, a disheartening effect upon many persons who had determined to build there. The order was wholly unnecessary, inasmuch as there was a sufficient number of stores for the protection and shelter of all goods brought in.^

1 Report of Sub-Committee for Foreign Plantations, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. IX, No. 122 ; Sainshury Abstracts for 163S, p. 29, Va. State Library.

2 Governor Harvey and Council to Privy Council, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. X, No. 5; Sainsbury Abstracts for 163S, pp. 50-57, Va. State Library.

534 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

Under an Act of the General Assembly passed in 16361 a lot sufficiently extensive in area to furnish room for a house and garden was granted, at an annual rental to the King of one copper, to every person settling at James- town.2 This Act, which was renewed in 1638, seems to have accomplished in a measure its object. For the length of half a mile along the river bank, not a foot of ground remained unappropriated as a site for a private residence. Nevertheless, only twelve houses and stores were erected. The number included a residence of brick for Secretary Kemp, of such solid and uniform construction that it was pronounced to be the finest house, public or private, as yet built in the Colony. His example led others to erect framed houses. It was at this time that a large amount of tobacco was contributed for the building of a brick church. It appears that the design aroused very general interest, for the contributors to it included masters of ships and planters who lived in other parts of the Colony, as well as residents of Jamestown.^ A levy was also ordered for the purpose of erecting a state-house and repairing the fort at Point Comfort, and it was to secure mechanics for these public works that Menefie's visit to England in 1G38 was undertaken. The state-house when completed was forty feet in length and twenty feet in width.* It was constructed of brick. There is no evidence that at this time

1 See Va. Land Patents, vol. 1623-1643, p. 689.

2 Governor Harvey and Council to Privy Council, British State Papers, Colonial, vol. X, No. 5; Sainsbury Abstracts for 1638, p. 54, Va. State Library.

3 Ibid., p. 57.

* On each side of the state-house there was a building of the same length and width. The three structures came into possession of Henry Eandolph, who in 1671 conveyed the middle one to Nathaniel Bacon, Sr. ; the second to Colonel Thomas Swann ; and the third to Thomas Ludwell. See General Court Rule Book, No. 2, pp. 155, 617, Bobinson Transcripts, p. 258.

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there was an inn at Jamestown ; only a few years before, Governor Harvey had comphiined that he coukl with as much justice be called the host as the Governor of Virginia from the number of people entertained by him in the absence of a public house. ^

Berkeley arrived in Virginia in 1642. The seventeenth clause of his instructions as Governor of the Colony con- ferred upon him and his Council the power to lay off the site of Jamestown in such a manner as should appear to them most advisable. Every person to whom a lot was granted was required to construct a residence of brick sixteen feet in breadth and twenty-four feet in length. There was to be a cellar under each house. The Governor w^as authorized to erect a building in which the Council and himself might convene and consult on affairs of public interest and decide cases. It was perhaps the most notable feature of Berkeley's instructions that the Governor and Council, with the advice of the Assembly, could remove the capital of the Colony if the dilapidation of the houses at Jamestown and the unwholesomeness of the spot were sufficiently great to justify it ; the new town, if the deter- mination were favorable to its erection, should still be known by the old name.^

There still remained at Jamestown many lots unused as building sites, and as they were eligibly situated and their practical abandonment interfered very seriously with the extension of the town, it was provided by law that whoever should erect a residence on one of these lots should be protected in his occupation whether his title to the ground was valid or not, the only condition imposed being that he

1 British State Papers, Colonial, vol. VI, No. 54; Sainshury Abstracts for 1632, p. 35, Va. State Library.

2 Instructions to Berkeley, 1641, § 17, McDonald Papers, vol. I, p. 382, Va. State Library.

536 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

should pay the reguhir quit-rent. If the original owner insisted upon his proprietorship in the lot, his claim was not to be allowed, but another lot as near to it as could be obtained was to be assigned him.^

The regulation establishing market days in Jamestown, Wednesdays and Saturdays being selected, seemed calcu- lated to increase the importance of the town, but in practi- cal operation it accomplished nothing, and in consequence was repealed in 1655.^

The wild character of many of the schemes agitated about the middle of the century, with a view to the pro- motion of town building, is illustrated by the suggestion advanced by the author of the pamphlet Virginia's Cure? He proposed that every person in the Colony who had a large number of servants in his employment, should build a house in the town situated nearest to his plantation. Here he and his family should dwell, the planter visiting his estate as often as he considered that his interests demanded it. On Saturday afternoon, when, accoi-ding to the custom prevalent in Virginia, the servants were relieved of work, the author recommended that they should be ordered to leave the plantations, a few only being instructed to remain, the rest to go to the towns in which their masters had taken up their residence, and there in their masters' houses to spend the Sabbath. This would give them an opportunity to attend divine service, a privilege from which they were debarred, at the date of this pamphlet, by the remoteness of the plantations and the sparseness of the population, both of which circum- stances were hostile to the prosperity of the church in the Colony. This notion was probably suggested to the

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. I, p. 252.

2 ij^ia.^ pp. 362, 397.

3 Virginia's Cure, p. 10, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. III.

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author by the system prevailing in several continental countries, in which the village was the centre of each agricultural community. It only shows how ignorant were the Englishmen of that day of the economic condi- tions in operation in Virginia as a consequence of the peculiar character of their staple product. Tliis product, as already pointed out, promoted irresistibly the constant enlargement of the plantation, dispersed the population, and sank the importance of the community, while it raised the importance of the separate estate. The proposition that the owners of the land should reside in towns might have been practicable had they been able to rent their plantations to tenants after the English fashion, but, as has already been observed, there was no marked disposi- tion among the inhabitants of the Colony to lease lands on account of the vast extent of the virgin soil which remained unajjpropriated. The average planter was com- pelled to give his personal attention to the management of his property, whether he had an overseer in his employ- ment or not. If all the landowners of a large neighbor- hood had lived together in a single village, it would have been necessarj'- for each one to spend a considerable por- tion of his time each day in making the journey to and from his plantation. This plan of life was not possible in a country where the estates, owing to their extent, were remote from a common centre. Such a physical obstacle would have been insurmountable even if the natural lean- ing of the people of the Colony had been towards urban life. But this was not their inclination, and all the influ- ences of tobacco culture tended to confirm their disposi- tion in the opposite direction.

If there really existed any desire among the planters at large to promote the building of towns, it would have taken no practical shape but for the periodical instructions

538 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

by the authorities in England to the Governors of Virginia to see to the passage of laws having that object in view. For a long series of years, the anxiety of the English Gov- ernment was confined to the extension of Jamestown, the effort towards which appears to have inflicted only a bur- den on the people,! but in 1662, Berkeley, who had been restored to his old position at the head of the Colony, after the return of the Stuarts to power, was commanded to use his influence to induce the planters to erect a town upon every important river. It is a significant commentary on the effect of the numerous laws which had been passed with a view to enlarging Jamestown, that Berkeley was specially directed to begin at this place the new attempt at town-building in Virginia. Such was the recommenda- tion which was necessary after all the carefully considered undertakings of fifty years. Jamestown was still to be seated ; the Governor had, practically, still to lay its foun- dations and to promote its growth with the most vigilant solicitude. Berkeley himself was commanded by the Eng- lish Government to build several houses in the town, pre- sumably at his own expense, and he was told to inform the members of the Council that the authorities in England would be highly pleased if each one would erect a resi- dence at Jamestown.2 To such expedients was the English Government driven to breathe life into that languishing corporation ! It might have been supposed that the Com- mittee for Foreign Plantations in England would, by this time, have plainly understood that if the local conditions in Virginia had failed to promote the growth of towns there, all the legislation which might be enacted in the

1 Grievances of Surry County, 167G-1677, British State Papers, Colo- nial, Virginia, No. 62 ; Winder Papers, vol. II, p. 100, Va. State Library.

2 Instructions to Berkeley, 1662, § 1, McDonald Papers, vol. I, p. 414, Va. State Library.

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future, like all that had been enacted in the past, would accomplish nothing whatever, but the belief was still too widespread that a statute had power to effect a-ny pur- pose, however oj^posed to the spirit of the economic sys- tem of the people upon whose interests it was designed to operate.

The General Assembly showed great willingness to con- form to the wishes of the English Government, although its members must have perceived very clearly the imprac- ticability of all schemes to promote the building of towns in the Colony. In the session of 1661-62, the law requir- ing that every ship which arrived in James River should sail to Jamestown and there obtain a license to trade was reenacted,! in spite of the fact that such a measure would add nothing to the growth of that place, as had been al- ready proved by previous experience, and must enhance to an appreciable extent the cost of all imported articles in consequence of the longer voj^age and unavoidable delay in delivering them, the expenses of the vessel being recouped by the higher prices demanded from the pur- chaser of the goods. There was now but one justification for the action of the Assembly in taking steps to compel all vessels bringing cargoes of goods into the Colony to go to Jamestown and there obtain a license to sell, namely, the endeavor to keep the volume of revenue undiminished, since all liquors, if landed elsewhere, escaped the burden of the import tax. But if this was the motive governing the Assembly, it was soon seen that the regulation was impracticable. A determined effort was now made to carry out the instruction that a town should be built upon every river to serve as a port of entry. In the session of 1662 there was passed the most detailed and carefully con- sidered measure which had as yet been brought forward.^

1 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 1:35. - Ibid., pp. 172-170.

540 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

This law constitutes one of the most interesting acts of legislation in colonial history, and might be regarded as a remarkable triumph of legislative hope over practical experience were it not for the statement of the preamble that the Assembly had undertaken to encourage the build- ing of towns because they looked upon it as their duty to conform to the wishes of their sovereign in England. There is a brief reference to the probable economic advan- tages to accrue to themselves. The determination to estab- lish these towns had its origin almost exclusively in a feeling of loyalty, a poor justification for so momentous a step. The hand of Berkeley is detected in the whole framework of the statute and his preference is evidently consulted.

A full synopsis of this Act will be found interesting as revealing the procedure of the General Assembly in the seventeenth century when it sought to build up a town in the face of a powerful combination of hostile influences. The best means to promote the growth of the capital was the problem which was to occupy the attention of the Colony during the first year after the passage of the stat- ute, and at the end of that time, the public energies were to be devoted to establishing a town on the York, Rappa- hannock, and Potomac respectively, and on the Eastern Shore. Under the terms of this statute, it was provided that Jamestown should consist of thirty-two houses, a number which indicated that the General Assembly was disposed to be moderate and prudent in its requirements. Each house was to be forty feet from end to end, twenty feet in width in the interior, and eighteen feet in height. Each was to be constructed of brick. The walls were to be two bricks in thickness as far as the water table, and one and a half the remaining distance. The roof was to be covered with slate or tile, and was to be fifteen feet in pitch. The manner of the relative arrangement of the

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houses, Avhether in a square or line, was left to be decided by the (iovernor.

Although the Colony had prospered in a fair measure for a period of fifty years without having a large settle- ment at Jamestown, nevertheless, it had now been deter- mined in earnest to establish one there. It was thouo-ht advisable to proceed with great dispatch. To accomplish this, each of the seventeen counties into which Virginia was divided at this time, was ordered to build a house at Jamestown at its own expense. The authority was con- ferred on all to impress into service the mechanics needed for the work, such as bricklayers, carpenters, sawyers, and other tradesmen. The strictest regulations were laid down to prevent every kind of exaction. The bricks were to be manufactured in the most careful manner and were in size to represent statute measure ; the price was not to exceed one hundred and fifty pounds of tobacco for every one thousand. In addition to receiving his food without charge, the ordinary laborer engaged in erecting a house was to be paid at the rate of two thousand pounds of tobacco a year. The brickmakers and bricklayers were to be remunerated according to the number of bricks moulded and laid, while the wages of each carpenter were not to exceed thirty pounds of tobacco a day. Each sawyer was to receive half a pound of tobacco for every foot of plank and timber for joices which he fashioned into shape. The workmen furnished by each county were ordered to report themselves twenty days after the Governor had forwarded to the commis- sioners of the county the notice to send them. The keepers of the taverns at Jamestown were required to supply the ordinary laborer with food at the rate of one thousand pounds of tobacco a year, and the most skilled workmen at the rate of fifteen hundred.

There was not a landowner in the Colony upon whom

542 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

the enforcement of this law would not impose a more or less onerous burden. Thus it directed that a Itfvy of thirty pounds of tobacco a head should be raised by the counties, and that each county should use ten thousand pounds of the amount thus collected, in paying for the construction of the house which it was required to build at Jamestown, in case the structure was completed in the course of two years after the original subscription. Ten thousand pounds of tobacco were also granted to every person who finished, at that place, a dwelling of the prescribed size before the termination of the same time. The surplusage of the general levy was to be distributed by the Governor and Council among those who had undertaken to erect houses, in the order of time in which these houses were completed. If any one who had bound himself to build at Jamestown in accord with the provisions of the law, should fail to carry out his agreement within the period allowed, he exposed himself to a fine of fifteen hundred pounds of tobacco. In order to induce persons to erect brick houses on the lots assigned them, they were granted a fee simple title to ground adjacent to their property sufficient in extent to afford room for a store.

Having taken measures which seemed adapted to ensure the erection of a large number of houses and stores, the General Assembly, recognizing that unless a steady volume of trade could be secured for the inhabitants, the corpora- tion would have no reason for existence, established the regulation that from the year Jamestown was completed, the tobacco crops of James City, Charles City, and Surry should be transported thither in sloops and shallops, and there put on board ships. If a planter refused to conform to this regulation, he was to be mulcted one thousand pounds of tobacco. The remuneration of each person who should convey the tobacco of others in his sloop or

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shallop to Jamestown was fixed at ten pounds of that com- modity per thousand, and the owner of the storehouse in which it was deposited was to receive six pounds in the same proportion. None of these charges prevailed under the system in force at the time this statute became a law ; the planter rolled his tobacco on board the merchantman at his wharf, or transported it in a sloop of his own to a point where the vessel was lying. No expense, as a rule, was incurred in this course, for the work was generally per- formed by his own men. The charges entailed by the proposed law would have been borne with impatience even during periods of high prices for tobacco, but when this product was selling at a low rate the burden was intoler- able, and was in itself sufficient to render the statute in operation altogether hopeless of a good effect. To ensure the transfer of a still larger quantity of tobacco to James- town, it was further provided that no vessel should take on board a cargo between that place and Mulberry Island. All tobacco ready for shipment above the latter point was to be conveyed to Jamestown first, and there loaded for transportation abroad. Whatever merchandise was consigned to planters or merchants residing between the capital and Mulberry Island was to be landed at the former place, and, if a vessel was loaded or unloaded elsewhere, its cargo was to be forfeited. To promote the growth of population at Jamestown, it was provided that during the first two years following the inauguration of the work of building houses there, the person and projDcrty of every man who resided in the town, and passed to and from it in the course of his daily business, should for two years be exempted from every form of legal process unless it was issued for debt contracted within the bounds of the corporation, or for the commission of a capital crime. An important provision of the law was that after its passage

544 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

no wooden house was to be erected in Jamestown, and all such houses then standing in the Colony should not be repaired with the same material, but should be replaced by structures of brick. The levy of thirty pounds of tobacco a head was for the period of one year to be devoted to the extension of Jamestown, but after the expiration of that time, the annual levy for building was to be expended in establishing towns in Accomac, and on the York, Rappa- hannock, and Potomac.

This brief synopsis of the law of 1662 shows how elabo- rate were tlie provisions of that measure for the enlarge- ment more especially of Jamestown. As far as legislation, independently of favorable local conditions, could create a town where none existed, it might be supposed that this law would have been successful in accomplishing its object, so far, at least, as the capital was concerned. It provided in detail for the erection of a number of houses at a cost which was distributed among the people of the seventeen counties.^ The mechanics to be employed in the work were to be provided for properly, and to be fully remuner-

1 " Whereas by act of last session (16G2) of the Hon"e Grand As- sembly, a towne is appointed to be builded at James Citty, and in order thereto each County is to build one house of bricke. It is ordered that a house be there built for this County (York) and as the county house, of the length, height and wideness appointed by ye said Act, and Maj. Joseph Croshaw who hath undertaken the same is by ye court nominated and impowered to have the whole management and ordering thereof, and of all things relating thereunto, viz, hyre and agree with or if occasion be, to presse workmen, labourers and others in the county, according to Act, and at ye prizes thereby set, and to take care that all timber worke and other things convenient be fitted and caryed in place, and the said house built and finished with what speed may be, and to doe and procure to be done all other necessary thing or things concerning ye same where agree- ments and disbursements to be sattisfied in ye county to ye persons employed, and said Maj. Croshaw's pains and trouble in ye management thereof to be considered and allowed by ye County." Becords of York County, vol. 1657-1662, p. 475, Va. State Library.

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ated for their labor. Title in fee simple to a lot was to be given, without charge, to ever}^ one who erected a house in the town, and finally, trade was to be secured for it by making it tlie only port on the James above Mulbei-ry Island where a cargo could be legally loaded and unloaded. Necessarily, if this regulation was strictly enforced, James- town would become the residence of all the principal merchants in that part of the Colony. What was the prac- tical result of all these carefully considered provisions? Three years after their adoption, Secretary Ludwell, writ- ing to Secretary Bennett in England, stated that enough of the proposed town had been built to accommodate the officers employed in the civil administration of Virginia,^ but this, it may be inferred from a remark contained in a letter from Morryson to Lord Clarendon, amounted onlj- to the construction of four or five houses. He declared that the erection of this scanty number of buildings had entailed the loss of hundreds of people, apprehension of impress- ment having driven many mechanics from the Colony .^

In 1675, Jamestown consisted of only twelve or four- teen families, who obtained a living chiefly by keeping houses of entertainment.^ This would signify a popula- tion of about seventy -five. There were twelve new brick houses and a number of framed houses with brick chim- neys attached, the value of the whole number, it was

1 British State Papers, Colonial Papers, April 10, 1GG5 ; Sainsbxmj Abstracts for 1665, p. 72, Va. State Library.

2 This letter is given in Neill's Virginia Carolorum, p. 295. The fol- lowing is taken from the Grievances of Surry County, drawn up in response to the special request of the English commissioners sent to inquire into the causes of Bacon's Insurrection: "That great quantityes of tobacco were levied upon ye poore inhabifants of this Collony for the building of houses att James Citty, which were not inhabitable by reason they were not finished." British State Papers, Colonial, Virginia, No. 62 ; Winder Papers, vol. II, p. 160, Va. State Library.

2 Bacon's Proceedings, p. 25, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. I. VOL. n. — 2 N

546 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

calculated, being 1,500,000 pounds of tobacco. ^ All the houses were not inhabited. ^ The two most substantial residences in the town at this time were owned by Mr. Lawrence and Mr. Drummond, men who figured very prominently in the popular uprising in the following year. The town extended about three-quarters of a mile from east to west.^ When Jamestown was laid in ashes by the soldiers of Bacon, Drummond and Lawrence applied the torch each to his own home. The church and state-house were both destroyed in the conflagration. When the English regiments dispatched to the Colony to suppress the insurrection arrived, there was not a house left standing in the town to furnish them shelter from the weather.* The commissioners sent to Virginia to inquire into the causes which led to the uprising of the people reported in favor of continuing the capital at Jamestown, and this recommendation received the approval of the Privy Council.^ The General Assembly had proposed to move the chief seat to TyndalFs Point in Gloucester.^ When Culpeper was appointed to the head of affairs in Virginia, he was instructed to rebuild Jamestown and to reestablish there the executive residence, the principal courts of justice and the other public offices. It was

1 Final Report of the English Commissioners on Bacon's Rebellion, Winder Papers^ vol. II, p. 503, Va. State Library. The destruction of several of the chief residences alone involved the loss of £1000. Ihid., p. 446.

2 Bacon's Proceedings, p. 25, Force's Historical Tracts, vol. I.

^ By the provisions of a law passed during the supremacy of Bacon, the corporation of Jamestown was made to include the whole island as far as Sandy Bay. See Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. .502.

4 Colonial Entry Book, IJo. 80, pp. 90, 94.

5 Order of King in Council, March 14, 1678-79, Colonial Entry Book, No. 80, pp. 206, 273; Sai^isbury Abstracts for 1678, p. 212, Va. State Library.

6 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, p. 405.

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further declared that it woukl give the King much satis- faction if the members of the Council and the leading citizens of the Colony should build houses at Jamestown and dwell there. A state-house was soon erected to accommodate the Burgesses, the Secretary, and the Clerk. A prison was also built. ^ The population of Virginia was now spread over such a wide area that the necessity of increasing the number of ports of entry as each suc- cessive statute for the encouragement of the growth of towns was enacted, was clearly recognized. It was im- possible even for the English authorities, who had shown so much blindness in the past to the physical conditions of the country, to entertain the belief that Jamestown could still be made the only port of entry and that all efforts should be restricted to enlarging that place ; they therefore recommended that a town should be built in the valley of each of the principal rivers. The need of this, in case ports of entry were to be established by law, had been known as early as 1662, and this need had only grown in force with the expansion in the volume of popu- lation and the extension of the area of the plantations.

Culpeper arrived in the Colony in May, 1680, and in the following month an elaborate measure for the en- couragement of Cohabitation was passed by the General Assembly. 2 In this statute, no special preference was shown to Jamestown, as had been the case in all previous Acts relating to the subject. Virginia had not yet re- covered from the confusion caused by the insurrection of

1 See Address of Burgesses to Howard, Oct. 4, 1685. See order of same, British State Papers, Colonial Entry Book, Virginian Assembly- No. 80; McDonald Papers, vol. VII, pp. .305, 367, Va. State Library.

2 Hening's Statutes, vol. II, pp. 471, 478. Eitzhugh, writing to Captain Francis Partis, July 1, 1680, said: "We are going to make towns; if you can meet with any tradesmen that will come in and live at the town, they may have large privileges and immunities." Letters, July 1, lObO.

548 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

a few years before; the people were in a state of poverty in consequence of the turmoil through which they had passed and the continued low price of tobacco, and they were, therefore, prepared to adopt any suggestion which seemed likely to afford them relief. They were disposed to countenance a new Act of Cohabitation, in the hope that it would raise up occupations for the inhabitants of the Colony and probably diminish their dependence upon England for manufactures, the cost of which fell very heavily upon the people when their main commodity was depressed in value. The new statute made no reference to this anticipation, nor did it contain, like the statute of 1662, the expression of a loyal desire to conform to the wishes of the King; it merely declared that the reasons prompting its passage were the low prices of tobacco and the great advantages which would accrue from the estab- lishment of storehouses at convenient places for the recep- tion of all merchandise to be imported into the country and all tobacco to be exported. Under the terms of this stat- ute, it was provided that fifty acres should be purchased by the authorities of each county in its own boundaries, to be held by duly appointed feoffees in trust. The price to be paid for this land was set at ten thousand pounds of tobacco, against which appraisement the owner of each fifty acres was without right of appeal, nor could he make a legal resistance to the appropriation itself. He was required to pass an absolute deed of conveyance, and in case he refused to do so, mere entry by the feoffees dis- possessed him of his legal title. The following places were selected as sites for new towns: Varina in Henrico, Fleur de Hundred in Charles City, Smith's Fort in Surry, Jamestown in James City, Patesfield in Isle of Wight, Huff's Point in Nansemond, mouth of Deep Creek in Warwick, the Jervise plantation in Elizabeth City,

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the Wise plantation in Lower Norfolk, the Read planta- tion in York, the Brick House in New Kent, Tyndall's Point in Gloucester, the Wormeley plantation in jMiddle- sex, Hobb's Hole in Rappahannock, Peace Point in Staf- ford, Calvert's Neck in Accomac, the Secretary's plantation on King's Creek in Northampton, Corotoman in Lancaster, and Chickacony in Northumberland.

As an inducement to build on these sites, a lot, half an acre in extent, was granted in fee simple to any one on condition of erecting a residence and store on it, this con- veyance to be subject to the additional condition that the beneficiary should pay one hundred pounds to the county. The failure in the course of three months to build operated as a forfeiture of the lot. If half an acre appeared in- sufficient for his purpose to any settler Avho wished to establish himself in any one of these to^\■ns, he might secure an acre on condition that he should erect on it two residences and two warehouses, and should pay to tlie county an additional one hundred pounds of tobacco. The tobacco was forfeited if in the course of three months he neglected to erect the houses agreed upon. The sur- veyors who determined the boundaries were to receive, on the delivery of the plats, twenty pounds of tobacco for every half -acre laid off. If a surveyor refused when requested to make a survey of a lot, he subjected himself to the forfeiture of five hundred pounds of the same commodity to the person seeking his services. All the products of native growth and manufacture were to be brought to these towns, there to be sold, and then to be carried on board for exportation abroad. The penalty imposed for a failure to comply with this order was the forfeiture of the articles. All forms of merchandise, all English servants and negro slaves imported into tlie Col- ony, were to be landed and to be disposed of only in these

550 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

towns, under the pain of confiscation if the reguhition was violated. Cattle and provisions were excepted from the operation of this rule. The cost of hiring a sloop, the only means of transporting the tobacco from the planta- tions, was fixed at twenty pounds of that commodity for each hogshead, provided the distance to be traversed did not exceed thirty miles ; if it was greater than this, the charge was to be forty pounds, and should the owner of the sloop demand more, he was to be punished by the forfeiture of one hundred pounds for each hogshead con- veyed by him at the illegal rate. The expense of storage in a warehouse was to be the same for a single day and a single month, namely, ten pounds of tobacco a hogshead. If the period ran beyond a month, the additional charge for each month was fixed at six pounds. In order to facilitate the transportation of the tobacco belonging to persons whose plantations were situated at a distance from the nearest site chosen for a town, these persons were permitted to appropriate land at the most convenient point for the dispatch of vessels, on which a rolling-house was to be erected to furnish accommodation for all the producers in their neighborhood. When the planter had prepared his crop for shipment, he could convey his hogs- heads to this house for safe-keeping until a sloop or shallop arrived to transport them to the nearest port of entry. If he had a sloop or shallop of his own, he could either carry his tobacco to the rolling-house by water or directly to the legal port and there have it deposited in the public warehouse. The rolling-house was expected to be a shelter not only for the tobacco in the course of transportation to the port of entry, but also for the goods which had been unloaded at the latter place and had afterwards been brought to the rolling-house for distribution among the planters residing in the neighborhood.

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It can be seen liow seriously a provision of this kind, if carried fully into effect, would have added to the expenses of the XDlanter. Instead of dropping its anchor at liis wharf and there discharging a cargo of goods and taking on a cargo of tobacco, the trading vessel would have stopped at a point ten, twenty, or even fifty miles away. Whether the planter was compelled to reach this vessel by transporting his tobacco in a hired shallop or sloop, or in a vessel of his own, he would have been put to an ex- pense for which he could expect no return. The interven- tion of a rolling-house would have been favorable to his convenience, but would not have diminished the charge imposed by the system of ports of entry. Under the terms of this law, the tobacco conveyed thither was to be exempted in the course of transportation, and after it reached its destination, from the process of law for any debt which might have been contracted previous to the passage of the statute, and the same privilege was ex- tended to the bodies and estates of the citizens of the new town. In neither case, however, was it to continue for a longer period than five years. At the end of that time, the creditors of such persons might bring suit without apprehension lest the statute of limitations should be offered in bar. To enjoy this protection, it was neces- sary that the debt should not have been contracted within the bounds of one of the proposed corporations. After the publication of the Act, all mechanics residing in the new communities were to be exempted for a period of five years from the payment of levies, on condition that they neither planted nor tended tobacco. In order to diminish the expense entailed in establishing a town, it was pro- vided that two counties might unite and erect it upon a site equally convenient to the inhabitants of both.

This Act was as judicious and as far-seeing in its details

652 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

as any law with so impracticable an object in view could have been. No influence was omitted that was likely to impress the minds of persons who were in a position to build in the towns projected. The offer of a lot for a small amount of tobacco and the exemption within the boundaries of each town of the person and property of its citizens from the process of law for the recovery of debts which had been contracted previously elsewhere, were in themselves inducements of the highest importance. The law of 1680 was not open to the objection which could be very justly urged against the statute of 1671, for it did not seek to establish one port on each of the four large rivers of the Colony ; on the contrary, a port of entry was appointed for each county on a site admitted to be the most convenient for a majority of its inhabitants.

In accord with the provisions of the Act of Cohabitation, steps were taken by the authorities of all the counties to lay off sites for towns at the different places designated by law. Records of this fact have come down to us in a few instances only. In the levy entered in court in Lancaster in January, 1683, five hundred and fifty pounds of tobacco were allowed George Heale for defining the boundaries of the proposed port of entry at Corotoman.i In 1681, Robert Beverley and Abraham Weeks were ap- pointed to serve as trustees of the town to be built in :Middlesex.2 The feoffees empowered to act in Norfolk County were William Robinson and Antony Lawson, and among the first purchasers of lots were such prom- inent citizens as Peter Smith, Richard Whitby, Henry Spratt, and William Porteus.^ The feoffees who conveyed

1 Records of Lancaster County, original vol. 1680-1686, orders Jan. 10, 1682-83.

2 Records of MiddJesox County, original vol. 16S0-1694, p. 41.

3 Records of Lower Norfolk Couniy, original vol. 1675-1686, f. p. 126.

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title to property in New Plymouth, in Rappahannock, were Jolm Stone, William Lloyd, Henry Awbrey, and Thomas Gouldman.^

Jamestown, instead of deriving any practical benefit from the passage of the Cohabitation Act, suffered a posi- tive disadvantage. The opinion had for scmie time pre- vailed in the Colony that the capital was far less fa\orably situated than many spots Avhicli might have been cliosen for the same purpose. When the statute of 1680 became a law, there Avas a general impression that one of the towns to be established under its terms would be selected as the metropolis of Virginia, and in consequence many persons who would have otherwise felt differently and probably acted accordingly, were indisposed to build resi- dences at Jamestown. The expressed wish of the King that the members of the Council and other citizens of prominence and influence should set an example to the population at large by establishing homes at that place, failed to have a general effect. Colonel Bacon built two houses in the town, and Colonel Bridger and Mr. Sherwood laid the foundation of others. ^

Many of the shipmasters appear to have disregarded the statute of 1680 as if it had no existence,^ while many dis- continued their commercial intercourse with the Colony.

1 Records of liappahannocJc Countij, vol. 1680-1688, p. 2, Va. State Library. A plat of the town will be found on p. 1 of this volume of Rappahannock records.

2 Instructions to Culpeper, 1681-82. His reply to § 68, British State Papers, Colonial, Virginia, vol. 65 ; 3IcDonald Papers, vol. VI, p. 165, Va. State Library.

3 In some cases, the shipmasters who treated the Act with contempt were arrested, and their cargoes of tobacco seized. See information against the Becovery and the Bnltimore, Becords of Middlesex Count'i, original vol. 1680-1694, p. 60. See appeal of the captains of these two vessels from the warrants issued to enforce the forfeiture of the tobacco which they had taken on board. Ibid., p. 04.

554 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

To such an extent did the Act curtail the revenue which the English Government annually derived from Virginia, and so much did it interfere with the profits of the Eng- lish merchants who found a market in the Colony,^ that it was at length suspended, but not until it had become thoroughly odious to the people, more especially in conse- quence of the prosecutions arising under the provisions of the law for the payment of forfeitures for violation of its terms. 2 The whole question as to establishing a number of towns was referred back to the General Assembly. This was the first practical admission on the part of the English Government that the policy of promoting town building in the Colony, which it had so long urged upon the attention of the people of Virginia, had ended in fail- ure. ^ The conflict of opinion as to the causes of this failure was very marked. Secretary Spencer was in- clined to ascribe it to the fact that the erection of too many towns was undertaken. It would have been far wiser, he thought, to have attempted to build only one on each river.* In the opinion of otliers, the whole scheme was impracticable, whether it was sought to erect only one town on each of the important streams or a town in each county, and this opinion seems to have been fully confirmed by the practical effect of the Cohabitation Act of 1662, and also by that of 1680, the latter providing for the erection of a town in each county, the former for the erection of a town in the valley of each of the principal rivers.

1 Bandolph 3ISS., vol. Ill, p. 400.

2 Heniug's Statiites, vol. Ill, p. 541.

3 Order on the Act of Cohabitation, Privy Council, Dec. 21, 1681, British State Papers, Virginia, No. 82 ; McDonald Papers, vol. VI, p. 7, Va. State Library.

* Letter of Nicholas Spencer, Aug. 20, 1680, British State Papers, Virginia, No. 80 ; McDonald Papers, vol. V, p. 373, Va. State Library.

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It would have been suj^posed that the result of the Act of 1680 would have discouraged all further efforts to re- vive this class of laws. Eleven years later, however, what ^\•as known as the Act for Ports was passed. This measure, like the majority of similar ones in the past, became a law at the suggestion of the man who was at that time at the head of affairs in Virginia. In this in- stance, it was Governor Nicholson, i The people at large were adverse to the passage of such a statute, as we know from records left by contemporaneous observers. ^ It was not always an easy matter, they argued, for the inhabi- tants of the Colony to earn a livelihood, though dwelling dispersed, as they were then doing, in a manner to leave ground for each individual to cultivate. Hoav much more difficult for a hundred families to obtain subsistence when they should be confined to an area not more than half a mile in extent ! Now, this was an entirely valid inference to draw in the light of the peculiar economic system prevailing in Virginia ; there Avas no substantial interest demanding the presence of a hundred families upon any one contracted site in the Colony, and in the absence of such an interest, they must necessarily lack the means of support and in consequence suffer severely. It was pointed out at the time of the passage of the Act for Ports that the greater number of Burgesses were entirely ignorant of the conveniences and advantages of towns, having never in their lives enjoyed an opportunity of visiting one. The authors of the Present State of Vir- ginia^ 1697, writing in the closing years of the seven- teenth century, agreed with Secretary Spencer in thinking that the mistake committed in the Acts establishing towns and ports of entry was in the appointment of too

1 Beverley's History of Virginia, p. 81.

2 Hartwell, Chilton, and Blair's Present State of Virginia, 1GU7, § l,p. a

556 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

many sites, a mistake which, they asserted, was to be laid at the door of the Burgesses, each of whom desired to have a town in his own immediate neighborhood, if not on his own plantation. ^ It is much more probable, how- ever, that the Burgesses clearly recognized the impracti- cable character of the schemes for the building of towns, and wished to diminish the inconvenience which the law entailed in requiring one at least to be erected in each county or one port of entry to be laid off there. They had their eyes, perhaps, not so much upon an advantage to be gained as upon an injury to be avoided.

The Act for Ports, in 1691, provided for the erection of a greater number of towns than the Cohabitation Act of 1680. For the counties of Charles City, Gloucester, Nanse- mond, Elizabeth City, York, James City, Middlesex, North- umberland, Rappahannock, and Accomac, the sites chosen were the same under both measures. The port for Lower Norfolk was again placed at the mouth of the eastern branch of Elizabeth River, for Stafford on Potomac Creek,^ for Northampton on Cherrystone Creek, and for Lancaster on the west side of the mouth of the Corotoman. In ad- dition to these ports of entry and clearing, there were a number of points selected as places for selling and buying goods, namely, at Bermuda Hundred in Henrico, at the mouth of Pagan Creek in the Isle of Wight, at the mouth of Deep Creek in Warwick, at the mouth of Gray's Creek in Surry, and at the mouth of Nominy in Westmoreland. Sev- eral of these spots had been surveyed under the terms of the law of 1680, and contained a number of residences as well as prisons and court-houses built of brick. The jus- tices of the peace in each county decided upon the fifty acres which were to be set apart as the site for the county port ;

1 Hartwell, Chilton, and Blair's Present State of Virginia, 1097, p. 10.

2 The name given to this port was Marlborough.

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this area was carefully surveyed, and lots determined for the stores and warehouses in which imported goods and tobacco for exportation were to be dejDosited. If the owner of the land appropriated refused to give it up, a jury of twelve men, summoned by the sheriff, were to assess its value, and the amount thus named was to be satisfied by a levy upon every tithable in the county. When the owner of the site of a port had transferred his title to the feoffees, or that title had passed to them by his refusal to make a deed, they were authorized to grant half an acre or more to any person who should agree to erect on it in the course of four months a house twenty feet square. After October, 1692, all merchandise brought into the Colony and all the products sent out were to pass through one of these ports, and if they were conveyed into or out of the county elsewhere, their forfeiture was to be the penalty.^

The support which this measure had in popular favor was shown in the action of many of the leading citizens of the Colony with reference to building a town at York. A plat of ground owned by Benjamin Head was laid off into eighty -five lots, covering an area of fifty acres. Only two appear to have remained without a purchaser. Among the persons who invested in them were such well-known men as Colonel William Digges, John Buckner, Thomas Jefferson, Colonel Edmund Jennings, Colonel William Cole, Dudley Digges, Thomas Chisman, Nathaniel Bacon, Sr., Charles Hansford, Edward Hill, and Governor Francis Nicholson. ^

It is a fact worthy of note that a number of mechanics purchased lots at York, for the purpose, doubtless, of car- rying on their trades in the town. Among them were

1 Henins's Statutes, vol. Ill, p. 53.

2 Becords of York Count'i, vol. 1G90-1694, pp. 55, 84, Va. State Library. A full plat of the town is given on p. 84 of this volume of York records.

558 ECONOIMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

William Simson, a tailor, James Derbyshire, a smith, and Robert Harrison, a carpenter. ^ Several innkeepers also acquired holdings there. The trustees were Joseph King and Thomas Bollard. ^ The feoffees for the town laid off in Middlesex County were Mathew Kemp, Christopher Robinson, and William Churchill. ^ The site had been the property of Ralph Wormeley, who refused to convey it upon order of the court, and in consequence it was for- feited ipso facto. Wormeley was anxious to retain a re- mainder interest in the property, very probably because he anticipated the failure of the objects of the law, but the authorities refused to consent to this.* Among the pur- chasers of lots were Edwin and John Thacker, Cristopher Robinson, James Curtis, Robert Dudley, John Head, Wil- liam Daniel, jNIaurice Cocke, and John Smith. ^ The feoffees for the town in Lancaster were David Fox and Robert Carter,^ and the site was purchased from William Ball for thirteen thousand pounds of tobacco." The owners of the lots included such men as Edwin Conwaj- and Richard Willis. In Henrico, the feoffees for Bermuda Hundred were William Randolph and Francis Eppes, the considera- tion in the purchase of the land being twelve thousand pounds of tobacco.^ Among those who acquired lots were Thomas Cocke, Edwin Stratton, Thomas Jefferson, and Edward Hatcher. The feoffees for Lower Norfolk under

1 Becords of York County, vol. 1691-1701, pp. 195, 211, Va. State Library.

2 Ibid, vol. lGOO-1694, p. 56.

3 Records of Middlesex County, original vol. 1680-1694, orders April 10, 1690.

* Ibid., orders Sept. 7, 1691.

5 Ibid., original vols. 1680-1694 and 1674-1694.

6 Records of Lancaster County, original vol. 1687-1700, p. 66. T Ibid., original vol. 1686-1696, levy for the year 1691.

8 Records of Henrico County, vol. 1688-1697, p. 236, Va. State Library.

THE TOWN 559

the statute of 1691 were the same as under the Cohabita- tion Act of 1680 ; William Hislett succeeded William Robinson, who was in his turn succeeded by Samuel Boush. Among those who owned property in the town were such prominent citizens as Malachi Thruston, who built a residence and other houses on the six lots which he purchased,! William Knott, who also erected three buildings,^ Peter Hobson, who lived in the town,^ Bryant Cahill, Thomas Nash, Thomas Walke, and Francis Simp- son. Several lots were purchased by mechanics. A lot having on it a house and garden was in 1693 sold for nine pounds sterling. 4 The records of 1699 show that Norfolk at that time had at least one wharf. The inhabitants in the previous year had been visited by an epidemic. °

Although the Act for Ports, which was as carefully considered as the Cohabitation Act of 1680, the policies of the two being practically identical, had been passed at the urgent suggestion of Nicholson, nevertheless, in the following year he openly expressed his dislike of the law, and sought, by increasing its unpopularity, to secure its repeal. This inconsistent conduct Avas attributed at the time to the influence of the English merchants, with whose trade in Virginia the Act for Ports interfered as much as the former Cohabitation Acts had done. In the session of 1692-93, the statute was suspended b}' the

1 Becords of Lower Xorfolk County, original vol. IBTS-ITO.", f. p. 170.

2 Ibid., original vol. 1686-1095, p. 187.

3 Becords of Norfolk County, original vol. 1695-1703, f. p. 107.

* Becords of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1686-1695, f. p. 2^P,.

5 Becords of Norfolk County, original vol. 1695-170.3, f. pp. 122, 154. The land on which Marlborough in Stafford County was laid off belonged to Captain Malachi Peale, with reversion to Giles Brent. The first feoffees were -John Withers and Mathew Thompson, who conve}'ed twenty-three lots to different purchasers. See Case and Petition of John Mercer, Lud- well Papers, Va. Hist. Soc. Mss. Coll.

560 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VmOINIA

Assembly, after having been in operation during several months. The ostensible reason offered for this course was that the consent of the Government in England had not yet been obtained to its becoming a law. It was well known at the time, however, that the true explanation of the suspension was to be found in the complaints which the English merchants engaged in trade with Virginia had made as to the practical working of the statute, as well as in the inconvenience it entailed upon the people of the Colony at large. ^ In spite of this inconvenience, there was a marked disposition on the part of many citi- zens, in the interval during Avhich the Act for Ports was in operation, to purchase lots from the feoffees of the dif- ferent towns. This disposition continued even while the Act was supposed to be in a state of suspension. In Hampton, in 1694, for instance, one of the lots which had been laid off was transferred to a purchaser for seven pounds sterling. 2 The site of the new town at this place consisted of twenty-six half-acres, all of which appear to have been sold. Two years later, one of these lots was conveyed by Henry Royall to John Walker in considera- tion of six pounds sterling. Royall was bound under the terms of sale to build a house twenty feet in length ; Walker claimed that this condition had not been fulfilled properly, and on this account, the amount of purchase money was cut down to five pounds and fifteen shillings.^ In 1698, Hampton was a place of sufficient importance to require the appointment of a special constable.* Upon many of the lots, houses were erected and other improve-

1 Beverley's Histortj nf Virginia, p. 81.

2 Becords of Elizabeth City Comity, vol. 1684-1699, p. 458, Va. State Library.

3 IlwU p. 119.

* Ibid., orders of court for 1698.

THE TOWN 561

ments established by the owners. In order to protect the interests of persons whose titles to property had been affected by the Act of Suspension and also to promote building, it was provided in 1699,^ eight years after the Act for Ports and six years after the Act of Suspension had been passed, that the trustees should confirm titles to lands bought previous to the latter Act or afterwards, just as if that measure had never been adopted. All vacancies in the board of feoffees were to be filled and all other powers conferred on these officers were to be exer- cised as if the Act for Ports had remained in force. So far, therefore, as this part of that law was involved, it continued to operate. In sustaining the right of the trustees to dispose of lots in spite of the suspension of the Act, it would ajDpear that there was a desire among the members of the Assembly to encourage the growth of towns in the Colony as long as the movement did not affect the custom prevailing among the planters of exporting tobacco from their own wharves or receiving there all their imported merchandise. A still more strik- ing evidence of the same desire was the grant of an exten- sion of time to all who had ceased to build after the passage of the Act of Suspension. The Act for Ports was embodied in the code of 1705, the statement appear- ing in its preamble that the consent of the Government in England to its being put in operation had been obtained, but it was not long before it was again suspended through the influence of the English merchants trading in Virginia. ^ After the restoration of Jamestown, the settlement does not seem to have numbered more than twenty houses. ^

1 Henins's Statutes, vol. ITT, p. 186.

2 Beverley's Ilistonj of Virginia, p. 88. It was repealed by I'roclaTiia- tion, July 5, 1710.

3 Documents Bdatinri to Colonial History <>f Xcw York, vol. IV, p. 009.

VOL. II. — 2 o

562 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

It had, however, a representative in the Assembly. In the last decade of the century, what remained of the town was destroyed by fire, and it never recovered from the effect of the conflagration. In the period of its highest prosperity, which had always been small, it had hardly amounted to more than a geographical name, a name cele- brated in history as designating a locality associated with thrilling and romantic events rather than the languishing hamlet that it was. It never rose to the dignity of a town in the modern sense of the word, and yet there are few deserted sites on the face of the globe which call up to the mind of the visitor, scenes more interesting in them- selves or more far-reaching in their historical significance. It was here that the English-speaking people made their first permanent settlement on the North American Con- tinent ; this fact alone has given the spot an undying fame, a fame that will increase as the power of the Anglo-Saxon race in the Western Hemisphere expands. A quarter of a century after the conflagration, Jamestown consisted of three or four substantial inhabited houses and a great mass of brick rubbish.^ To-day, hardly a trace of the rubbish remains.

When the town was laid in ashes towards the close of the seventeenth century, it was decided to remove the capital of the Colony to the Middle Plantation, as it was known, a place offering the advantages of a healthy and

1 Hugh Jones' Present State of Virginia, p. 25. That the entire site of the town will not finally sink beneath the waves of the river will be due to the measures of protection which the National Government have adopted at the earnest solicitation of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. This organization is performing a noble and sacred work in rescuing so many of the ancient landmarks of the State from ruin, a work into which it has thrown a zeal, energy, and intelli- gence entitling it to the honor and gratitude of all who are interested in the history, not merely of Virginia, but of America itself.

THE TOWN 563

temperate situation, a large number of wholesome springs, and the proximity of two creeks, one of which emptied into the James, the other into the York. As has been seen, the plan of abandoning Jamestown as the site of the capital had been contemplated on several occasions. It was always supposed, however, that the new seat of the colonial government would be one of the towns designated in the text of the Cohabitation Acts. The measure for incorporating the new capital was not introduced into the Assembly until 1699, and it was embodied in the code of 1705. The details of this statute illustrate the practical manner in which a new town was laid off in Virginia in the seventeenth century. The first provision was for the appropriation of four hundred and seventy-five square feet of land as a site for the state-house. An area of two hun- dred feet in its immediate neighborhood was to remain unobstructed in every direction. Two hundred and eighty-three acres and thirty half-poles of land were reserved for the general uses of the town. Of this, two hundred and twenty acres were designed as sites for houses, and fifteen acres and forty-four poles and a quarter were set apart for a roadbed to lead from the town to Queen's Creek, a stream flowing into York River. At the point where the road reached the creek, fourteen acres, seventy- one poles and a quarter of land were to be laid off for a port, and for a similar purpose, twenty-three acres, thirty- seven poles and a half of land were reserved on Archer's Hope Creek, the name of which was changed to Princess. This second port was connected with Williamsburg by a road for which ten acres and forty-two poles were allowed b}^ statute. The appropriation of the ground upon which the town was built was made b}^ a jury of twelve men drawn from the counties of York, New Kent, and James City, freeholders who were not related by blood or mar-

504 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

riage to the owners of the proposed site. Their appraise- ment was returned to the ofifice of the Secretary, and immediately upon its reception the feoffees whom the Assembly had appointed, a Burwell, a Ludwell, a Harri- son, and later a Bjaxl, being included among the number, were authorized to enter upon the land, their title to it becoming at once an absolute estate for inheritance in fee in trust for the object defined in the statute. This owner- ship, however, did not extend to any lot upon which a house was standing at the time the new town was incorpo- rated. In such an instance the proprietorship remained with the original owner. The general plat was divided into lots half an acre in extent. One of the most impor- tant duties of the feoffees was to convey a title to the pur- chasers of these lots, who were to pay an advance of fifty per cent on the original cost to the Government, of each one. It was also provided that every buyer should in the space of twenty-four months erect on his property a dwell- ing twenty feet in width and thirty feet in length. Every house on the main street was to be built within six feet of the roadway and was required to be at least ten feet in pitch. If any person purchased two adjoining lots on the main street, and before the termination of a period of twenty-four months erected a house fifty-four feet long and twenty feet broad, or a brick or wooden house, having two stacks of brick chimneys and also cellars, forty feet in length and twenty in breadth, he was considered to liave complied with the condition and could claim an absolute title to his property. He could claim the same title if he purchased an entire acre on the main street and one or more lots in the immediate rear, and erected in the course of twelve months, on the acre fronting on the main street, as much housing as would amount to five hundred square feet superficial measure on the ground plat for every lot

THE TOWN 565

which he had bought. He was also considered to have fulfilled the condition of ownership if in the same length of time he completed in brick or framework, with brick cellars and chimneys, as much housing as would make four hundred square feet superficial measure on the ground plat for every lot included in his purchase. Six months after a building had been finished, the owner was required to enclose the lot or lots with a wall or paliiig, or with post and rails, and if he failed to comply with this order, he forfeited five shillings a month for every lot that remained open. The power of incorporating the town was reserved to the chief executive of the Colony. At any time he could issue his letters patent under seal, and unite all who had an interest in property in Williamsburg into one corporation, to be known as the Mayor, Aldermen, and Com- monalty of the city of Williamsburg, with the right to exer- cise full municipal authority.^

1 Heuiiig's Statutes, vol. Ill, pp. 197, 419.

CHAPTER XXI

CONCLUSION

In casting a brief retrospective glance over the period of time to which this inquiry has been confined, it is seen that by far the most momentous fact in the history of Vir- ginia in the seventeentli century was the discovery, through Rolfe's experiment in 1612, that the soil of the Colony was adapted to the production of a quality of tobacco which was destined to prove valuable in the European markets. From the very beginning, this discovery thwarted one of the principal objects of the colonization of the new coun- try: it deprived the people of England of all hope of ob- taining from the Colony the commodities which they were importing from the Continent at an enormous outlay. Its most vital influence, however, bore directly upon the fate of the people of Virginia themselves. It shaped that fate absolutely. The manner in which this result was effected is soon described. Tobacco had not long been cultivated in the Colony before the virgin land was discovered to be necessary to its production in perfection, since there were no artificial manures in that age for retaining or restoring the fertility of the ground. As soon as the soil gave signs of exhaustion, it was allowed to relapse into coarse grasses and finally into forest; a new field was created by the removal of trees over an area selected in the primaeval woods, which covered the greater part of every plantation, and this field was in turn abandoned when it became impov- 566

CONCLUSION 667

erished and the old course was again adopted for a new area of forest land. The whole .effect of tobacco culture was to extend the clearings with the utmost rapidity in the ever- recurring need of a virgin soil. In this need, the system of large plantations had its origin. The tobacco planter was compelled to own a broad extent of land in wood, upon which he might encroach from year to year as the ground under cultivation lost its fertility. The advantage of possessing a wide range for his cattle, which were thrown on their own resources to gain a subsistence, was an addi- tional motive in his appropriation of the soil.

The economic and moral influences springing from the system of large plantations thus built up were radical and supreme. Looking at that system from an economical point of view, it will be seen that it produced a spirit of wastefulness, which was fully excused by the prevailing abundance of all the necessaries of life. The whole coun- try, even where it was most thickly inhabited, bore the aspect of a wilderness but slightly changed by the applica- tion of the axe and hoe. The methods of agriculture in the midst of such a profusion of natural wealth were, as might have been expected, rude and careless, a thoughtful and calculating treatment of natural resources being unnec- essary as long as these resources were unbounded. If the estates had been limited in area, an intensive system would have been introduced. Greater care would have been employed in the use of the soil, and the forests would not have been so ruthlessly destroyed. The isolation of life which the large plantation created and promoted, discour- aged the growth of towns and villages, not only by dimin- ishing all tendency towards cooperation among the people, but also by simplifying the interests of each community. Each plantation stood apart to itself. It had its separate population; it had its own distinct round of occupations;

568 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIEGINIA

it had its own laborers, its own mechanics. It either pro- duced its own natural and manufactured supplies or it imported them from abroad. There was no mutual depend- ence among plantations such as would have been observed if the estates had been small, which would have signified a division of labor.

The moral influence of the large plantation was equally extraordinary. It fostered habits of self-reliance in indi- vidual men ; it assisted in promoting an intense love of liberty ; ^ it strengthened the ties of family and kinship at the very time that it cultivated the spirit of general hos- pitality. Descended from the race of Englishmen, indeed, in many instances born under English skies themselves, the Virginians of the seventeenth century led a life, in consequence of the independent and manly existence per- mitted by the plantation system, that confirmed all the

1 Edmund Burke, in his celebrated speech on Conciliation with Anaer- ica, attributed the intense love of liberty characteristic of the people of the Southern colonies to the presence of slaves. " There is a circum- stance attending these colonies (Southern) v^hich . . . makes the spirit of liberty still more high and haughty than in those to the Northward. It is that in Virginia and the Carolinas they have a vast multitude of slaves, \yhere this is the case in any part of the world, those who are free are by far the most proud and jealous of their freedom. Freedom is to them not only an enjoyment but a kind of rank and privilege. Not seeing there that freedom, as in countries where it is a common blessing, and as broad and general as the air, may be united with much abject toil, with great misery, with all the exterior of servitude, liberty looks amongst them like something that is more noble and liberal. I do not mean to commend the superior morality of this sentiment, which has at least as much pride as virtue in it ; but I cannot alter the nature of man. The fact is so ; and these people of the Southern colonies are much more strongly and with a higher and more stubborn spirit, attached to liberty, than those to the Northward. Such were all the ancient commonwealths ; such were our Gothic ancestors ; such in our days were the Poles ; and such will be all masters of slaves, who are not slaves themselves. In such a people, the haughtiness of domination combines with the spirit of freedom, fortifies it and renders it invincible."

CONCLUSION 569

great qualities which had formed a part of their moral inheritance as scions of the English stock. It was a life that allowed the individuality of each planter to expand without obstacle. It is not surprising that in a great crisis like the American Revolution, when sufficient time had passed for Virginia to produce a population racy of her own soil, and moulded by her own material conditions, there should have sprung up a body of men of exalted merit in those departments of human affairs in which her general system was most calculated to develop talent, the sphere of military action and the sphere of statesmanship. The large plantations, by giving birth to a class of great landowners, increased the importance of leaders in the community. It promoted the aristocratic spirit not the less strongly because there were no legally defined ranks in society. It created a rural gentry as proud as that of England.

The system of large estates was the result of the special conditions of tobacco culture alone. It did not spring from the existence of slavery, although that institution, by furnishing a cheaper laborer, gave a strong impulse to the expansion of the area included in the tract of each plan- tation. The plantation system of Virginia was founded upon a permanent basis many years before the number of slaves in the Colony had reached a thousand. That sys- tem would have flourished if not a single African had been introduced into Virginia. In its principal aspects indented service was a form of slavery ; the servant was merely a slave for a fixed number of years instead of for life ; he was for the time being absolutely at the disposal of his master, his physical powers being as persistently directed to the removal of the forest and the cultivation of the ground. The increasing substitution of new servants for old, whose terms had come to an end, gave, on each large

570 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

plantation, a continuity to the labor system of white ser- vants as unbroken as if it had been the labor system of slaves. The economic results were substantially the same ; the moral and social influences of both were in many respects exactly similar.

Nevertheless, it is a cause for lasting regret that the African slave gradually took the place of the indented English servant. From a political point of view, the chief merit of the system of white laborers was that upon the expiration of their terms they became at once citizens who were identified in race with members of the ruling class. They could in time rise to a high position in that class if they had energy and ability, or could, if they themselves were lacking in these qualities, transmit the right to rise to their descendants, either immediate or remote. The complete homogeneity of the community was not affected by the presence of the white servant ; in that servant the community possessed the most admirable instrument for the eradication of the primaeval forest, the supreme task of the colonial age, because he was just as thoroughly and directly in the power of his master as the negro slave him- self ; at the same time, the public interests foresaw in him a free man, who was destined to the highest possibilities as soon as he had taken his place in the ranks of the com- munity at large.

In all the advantages of citizenship, there was no essen- tial difference between the immigrant who took up a tract of land on his arrival in the country and the son or grand- son of the indented white laborer, or the indented white laborer himself after the end of his term, if he was able to acquire an equal amount of property. The discipline which the indented white servant was brought under, the very hardships to which he was exposed, and which he was compelled to endure, formed a school which was most

CONCLUSION 571

admirably adapted to prepare him to make his way suc- cessfully when he had become free. If the system of indented white laborers had prevailed down to the Revolu- tion without the introduction of a single negro upon the soil of Virginia, there would have been fcMnd, after the establishment of the national independence, a community composed entirely of a homogeneous English stock. All the influences of the system of large plantations, to which the great personalities of Virginia in that momentous era are principally due, would have been in oj^eration, because the system of white indented laborers, as the early histor}^ of the seventeenth century shows, would have promoted, equally with the institution of slavery, the expansion in the area of the separate estates.

It is impossible to speculate without interest upon the probable condition of Virginia after the Revolution if the planters had had only the white laborer to depend on. Would the importation of indented servants from England have continued? Hardly in the same volume, although the dearness of labor in the State, as in the Colony, would have led to the offer of strong inducements by the planters to procure foreign laborers, among whom the English would doubtless have been preferred. Under the new political regime, it was quite improbable that indented labor as known in the seventeenth century would have prevailed, because of its inconsistency with the spirit of the new institutions. The modern system of free labor would no doubt have sprung up, and this might have been a cause of serious embarrassment to the owners of great estates. The system of large plantations, as soon as arti- ficial manures began to be used in the cultivation of to- bacco, would probably have yielded to the influences of disintegration attendant on free labor; Virginia might have grown into close sympathy with the economic condi-

572 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

tions of the Northern States long before the present day had been reached.

We may acknowledge that the negro wonld in all proba- bility have been introduced into the Colony in the seven- teenth century, even if the soil had been incapable of producing the tobacco plant, but without that plant it is not likely that the institution of slavery could have ob- tained a permanent foothold in Virginia. In time it would have died out and the African population have remained an insigniticant part of the community. The extension of tobacco culture signified the importation of African slaves in large numbers as soon as the facilities for procuring them had been increased. What that cul- ture required was the cheapest form of labor, and this the negro furnished because he was a bondsman for life, for whom only a provision of bare subsistence had to be made. It was not until the end of the century that the means of importing slaves grew to be equal to the demand for them. The white indented servant and not the negro was the principal factor in the labor system in operation in the Colony in that age ; and yet as far as slavery existed then, it had all the features of the same institution as observed down to the late war between the States. It cannot be said, however, that it had an important effect upon the economic conditions in the Colony ; on the contrary, if not a single negro had been introduced into Virginia in the seventeenth century, the peculiar character of that community during this period would hardly have been altered, for the very simple reason that the chief influence forming and controlling it sprang from the special needs of tobacco culture, which were satisfied by the system of indented labor, that system, as has been pointed out, being merely one of temporary slavery.

It was not until the eighteenth century that the impres-

CONCLUSION 573

sion of slavery upon existing institutions grew to be pro- found ; and yet that this impression was not essentially different from that which the early system of indented service produced, is shown in the general identity of the Virginian communities during the whole of the eighteenth century with the same communities previous to the middle of the seventeenth, when the number of slaves amounted only to a few hundred. Indeed, there is nothing in the history of the Colony in the seventeenth century more strik- ing than the similarity between the conditions prevailing then under the system of indented labor, and those pre- vailing under the institution of slavery as soon as it became universal, down to the hour of its destruction, although two hundred years had passed, and a radical change of government had taken place. The explanation lay wholly in the fact that the requirements for the pro- duction of tobacco had during this long period remained practically the same. Although artificial manures had been introduced, the planters still preferred that virgin soil which could only be obtained by clearing away the forest. It was this fact still that maintained the system of large plantations in undiminished vigor.

No system of land tenure could have been adopted more admirably calculated to ensure the rapid settlement of the Colony than that which was in operation there throughout the seventeenth century. There were in that age no such facilities in ocean transportation as exist at j)resent to diminish the outlay entailed by emigration from Europe to America. To-day, the expenses of the passage are so small that even the peasant can meet the unavoidable charges, and, in consequence, from all paits of the Old Country, men belonging to the lower ranks of life have flocked into the far West and taken up land. So costly was the voyage in the seventeenth century, that unless the importer of

574 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGIXIA

laborers had been offered fifty acres for every one he intro- duced, but an insignificant proportion of that class which formed the principal basis of the head right would have found their way to Virginia, and in the absence of that class, the destruction of tlie forest on a great scale would have been deferred for many decades. The head right ensured an enormous immigration of agricultural laborers, the tract of fifty acres being looked upon as a partial com- pensation at least for the expense of bringing in the ser- vant. The West was settled by an influx of population which, under the homestead law, became at once a commu- nity of small landowners, but in Virginia in the seventeenth century, the mass of the inhabitants were men and women who had no interest in the soil. In spite of the fact that the average size of the patent sued out was not very con- siderable, the face of the country was in possession of only a section of the people.

The valuable inducements held out to men of means to become landowners in Virginia led to the emigration of a large number of Englishmen who represented the most refined elements of the mother country, and who were therefore anxious to introduce into their new communities all of those economic conditions to which they were accus- tomed on their native soil. They were compelled to fol- low a new system of agriculture, because the}^ had not only to overcome the obstacle of a heavy growth of forest, but also to adapt their action to the needs of the tobacco plant, but in all the other departments of their economic affairs they adhered as far as possible to the methods and customs of England. This was especially observable in the interiors of their dwelling-houses and in the general conveniences of their daily lives.

It is doubtful whether there was ever a new community that obtained its supplies, whether natural or manufactured,

CONCLUSION 575

with more ease and in greater abundance than Virginia in the seventeenth century. The Colony was very fortunate in the early years of its history in possessing a staple like tobacco, which, although it fluctuated in value and often sank in price below the cost of production, was neverthe- less practically in constant demand in the foreign market. The Virginians, unlike the people of New England, were not compelled to seek purchasers for their main product ; foreign shipmasters, with vessels loaded down with the greatest variety of merchandise, sailed directly up to the plantation wharves and there exchanged their goods for tobacco, or they placed these goods in the hands of factors who distributed them among the people in return for that commodity.

There have been few people enjoying a greater variety and abundance of food than the Virginians in the same age. The natural supplies which were not dependent upon their own production were to be found in greater profusion at that period than at any subsequent period, because the course of destruction had not been so prolonged. Beasts, birds, and fish were to be obtained in almost incredible quantities. There has never been a soil more admirably adapted to every species of vegetables than the soil of Vir- ginia, even at the present day, after being under cultivation for nearly three hundred years. Although little attention was paid to fruits in the seventeenth century, there was nevertheless an abundant supply for use. The various cereals flourished also to an extraordinary degree.

An absence of great personalities was one of the most remarkable features of the history of Virginia in the seventeenth century after the dissolution of the Company. Nathaniel Bacon alone stands out upon that vast back- ground in the proportions of an extraordinary man, but he was an Englishman and not a Vii-ginian. It sliouhl l)e

576 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

remembered that great men of action are the products of critical times alone, for they require a motive and a stage. There was but one heroic tumult in the course of that long period ; if no native Virginian took supreme control of affairs then, it was nevertheless the spirit of the native Virginian which sustained the youthful Bacon in his mem- orable enterprise. The highest powers of the most capa- ble men of the age were directed to the accumulation of property. The country was new and was covered with forest : it required a concentration of thought and energy on the part of individuals to secure material success in the midst of such conditions, and a certain degree of such success was necessary if a foothold was to be won, and when won, maintained. In the beginning it was to be ex- pected that the instincts of the people should be entirely fixed upon the improvement of their fortunes, and it fol- lowed that the leading men were those who were most successful in increasing their estates. The principal fig- ures in the history of Virginia in the seventeenth century were men of the stamp of Samuel Mathews, George Mene- fie, Robert Beverley, Adam Thoroughgood, Ralph Worme- ley, William Fitzhugh, Edmund Scarborough, and William Byrd, men who were important, not because they filled high offices, but because they had gathered together great properties by planting and trading.

To the generation of Virginians now living, the history of their community in the seventeenth century should be peculiarly interesting, for this was the period in which the foundation was laid for those conditions that the new regime will in time wholly destroy. All that is great in the annals of the Colony and the State was accomplished during the existence of these conditions : the character of the most illustrious soldiers and statesmen of Virginia were moulded by the old economic system, and her contri-

CONCLUSION 577

butions to the wealth of the world were made under its operation. The era upon which the commonwealth has entered will, no doubt, as time goes on, be found, in all of its principal aspects, antipodal to that long period, which, beginning in 1607, only ended in 1865. The most powerful influences of the seventeenth century, the forma- tive age in the history of Virginia, tended directly, as has been seen, to the creation of great estates in land. At the present day, the most powerful influences tend directly to the disintegration of the system of large plantations, and this is observed even in those parts of the State where tlie population is compelled to rely principally upon tobacco for a subsistence. A virgin soil is no longer necessary to the production of that plant in perfection, artificial manures being now used in preparing land for its culture. Unfore- seen influences, independent of those springing from the destruction of slavery, have hastened the drift towards the subdivision of the soil. The extension of the area under cultivation in the West, by lowering the prices of all agricultural products, including tobacco, has rendered hired labor unprofitable except where the soil is extremely fertile. In the present age, it is the landowner who works with his own hands who can in the long run follow the pursuits of farming and planting without a loss, and there is little reason to expect a reversion of this condition. Virginia in the twentieth century seems destined to present in its holdings a condition precisely the opposite of what was observed in the seventeenth, in the eighteenth, and in the greater part of the nineteenth. It will doubtless become a community of small landowners. That appearance of waste and neglect which accompanied the system of large plantations seems likely gradually to disappear as the area under cultivation comes to include practically the entire face of the country.

578 ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

All the influences of the seventeenth century, as has been seen, were hostile to the building of towns and cities, and this can also be said of the system of large plantations as long as it lasted in its primitive vigor. All the influ- ences of the new regime are promotive of the growth of centres of population. The influences of the old r%ime, as founded in the seventeenth century, were such as to exalt the importance of the individual ; the influences of the new are such as to raise the importance of the mass. The isolated life of the large plantations of the past fos- tered very marked traits in the character of each person, and in the character of each community ; the subdivision of the land, by increasing the population enormously and bringing the people into the closest and most constant intercourse, will tend to reduce the inhabitants to a more uniform type, and this process will be daily hastened by the ever-growing facilities of communication with the country at large.

It is safe to predict that under the new economic system, Virginia will no longer produce the same class of men as she did under the old. Her illustrious citizens in the past sprang from the rural gentry. A rural gentry is impossible under prevailing conditions ; the remnant which has sur- vived to the present day is so small as to be unworthy of consideration from a numerical point of view, and in a few years it will be altogether gone. All that is highest and noblest in the civilization of the State will find its repre- sentation in the town and not as of old in the country.

Virginia, which was once imperial in extent, has shrunk into the confines of a narrow State, and the time may come when the name will be used to designate a geographical entity of the past. This result cannot be reached until there has been a complete subversion of all those princi- ples that her people have cherished and revered, the seeds

CONCLUSION 579

of which were planted in the western soil b}^ their fore- fathers in the seventeenth century, and nourished by all the influences of the plantation system founded in that age. The simplicity of life, the manliness of spirit, the love of home and family, and devotion to liberty, promoted by that system, are the strongest pillars upon which the honor and safety of government can rest. It will be happy indeed if the future of the State shall show that all these virtues can flourish under the new economic order as fully as they flourished under the old, and that growth in her material wealth and the concentration of her population in cities shall not mean a decline in the character of her citi- zens as compared with the character of that extinct race of country gentlemen which produced Washington and Lee, and a long line of statesmen and soldiers, hardly less illustrious, whose achievements have, in the eyes of the world, conferred imperishable distinction upon the Ameri- can name.

INDEX

Aberdeen, ii. 329.

Accomac County, i. 320, 351 ; aboriginal tribe in, 140, 141 ; remarkable fore- sight of Indians residing in, 157 ; Yeardley's visit to, 258; case of Walter Chiles in, 350; irregular trade of, with Holland in 1663, 358 ; sheep owners in, 377; amount of tobacco produced in, in 1681), 456; Indians of, make complaint of their straitened condition, 495; Indians of, 496, 497 ; ii. 47, 346, 351 ; value of slaves in, 91 ; Bristol ship goes ashore in, 91 ; residences in, 157 ; English merchants trading in, 334; Indian marts in, 388; carpenters owning land in, 424; owners of looms residing in, 470; its people petition that all coin in Virginia ex- cept the English shall be rated, 512 ; also that the value of the dog dollar shall be ascertained, 513; value of beaver in, 521; town building in, 549, 556.

Adams, Captain, i. 219.

Africa, i. 71, 72, 409, 487 : ii. 59, 63.

Agricultural developmeut, reasons for selecting Jamestown as the site of the settlement, i. 189-192; disadvan- tages of the site, 190 ; the first sow- ing of wheat, 193; clearing of new grounds, 196; first planting by the English of maize, 198; how the ground was cultivated, 200; the im- plements, 201 ; the increase in num- ber of livestock, 201; Delaware's plans to promote agriculture, 203, Henricopolis founded by Dale, 208; ! steps taken to protect cattle by raising palings, 209 ; first cultivation [ 581

of tobacco, 210; its rapid extension, 212; Dale grants privileges to the farmers, 213; the terms of the ten- ancy, 215 ; settlements in Virginia at Dale's departure, 216; commodities exported to England during his ad- ministration, 218; the first produc- tion of wine and silk, 219; first introduction of the plough, 219; Yeardley grants privileges to the inhabitants of Charles Hundred, 221 ; Argoll arrives, 222 ; his first measures beneficial, 223; the wreck caused by his administration during the second year of its existence, 224; Yeardley's second administration, 226 ; the grant of private ownership in land, 227; amount of land re- served for officers, 228; provision made for their cultivation, 229; the importation of tenants for the pub- lic lands, 229 ; the terms of agree- ment, 230; operation of the tenant system in 1619, 231 ; implements imported for the use of the ten- ants, 233 ; privileges granted for the cultivation of staple commodities, 234 ; production of English wheat, 237; obstacles to its culture, 2.38; development of silk industry, 240; destroyed by massacre of 1622, 242 ; efforts to manufacture wine in the colony, 243; number of cattle in Virginia in 1620, 247 ; their steady importation, 248; contracts with ■\Vood and Gookin, 248, 249; lack of lilouglis. 250; agricultural condition of Colony at close of Yeardley's ad- ministration, 251 ; improvements in the handling of tobacco, 253 ; reasons

582

why special attention given to culti- vation of tobacco in time of the Com- pany, 254; obstacles to cultivation of wheat, 257 ; amount of tobacco ex- ported, 262 ; policy of James tended to discourage its cultivation, 2G3; warehouses for sale of tobacco es- tablished by the Company in Hol- land, 2G5; the King's attempt to control the trade, 266 ; the first con- tract between James and the Com- l^any, 269; it falls through, 270; massacre of 1622, 270; contraction of the settlements, 271; epidemic following the massaci'e, 272; effect of scarcity in prices, 273 ; provisions taken to suppress the Indians and to encourage the production of grain, 274; revocation of the Com- pany's letters patent, 276; recom- mendations of the Company as to contract with the king for the to- bacco of the colony, 277; terms of the Ditchfield contract, 278 ; reasons for the colonists opposing it, 279; importation of Spanish tobacco pro- hibited, 281; Amis contract, 284; Charles makes a direct proposition for the tobacco of the Colony, 285 ; the Goring contract, 288 ; cultivation of tobacco in England prohibited, 289; tobacco exported to Holland, 290; measures taken to prevent it, 291 ; importation into England of Spanish tobacco, 293; how tobacco shipped to England, 295 ; increase in number of cattle, 296; prices of neat cattle, horses, and goats, 297, 298 ; proposition to build a palisade across the Peninsula, 299; greater attention paid to the cultivation of wheat, 301 ; varieties of tobacco, 303; causes for the production of much mean tobacco, 303 ; first regu- lations looking to inspection, 304; inspection law of 1630, 304 ; amend- ments, 305 ; Harvey's efforts to improve condition of agriculture, 308 ; exportation of grain to the North and West Indies, 310; cattle exported, 311 ; the palisade built, 312; the first fence law, 313; the

character of the early Virginia fences, 316; province of Maryland created, 318 ; population of Virginia at this time, 319; Charles I. seeks to divert attention of planters from tobacco, 320; plans for reducing volume of annual crop, 321 ; the disposition to abandon old planta- tions and the reasons for it, 323; Act of 1639, requiring the distribution of one half the good tobacco, 324 ; cus- toms upon tobacco, 326; Harvey seeks to diversify the iproducts of the Colony, 328; cultivation of Eng- lish grain, 329; Berkeley encourages the planting of cotton, flax, and hemp, 331 ; increase in number of neat cattle, 332; prices of horned cattle, 333; the number of horses, 335; agricultural condition of the Colony in 1649, 336; abundance of natural products, 337 ; articles which the immigrant should bring into Vir- ginia, 338 ; opinions of Evelyn, Wil- liams and Bullock on this point, 339; the course pursued by the planter in his first year after arriving in Vir- ginia, 340; how the proceeds of his crop were to be laid out in purchases in England, 342; special inducements offered by Virginia to all classes in England to emigrate, 343; effect upon Virginian agriculture of Eng- lish legislation, 345; interference on the part of the mother country with free trade of the Colony, 347; the reasons, 347, 348 ; ordinance of 1650, 349; Navigation Act of KJSl, 349; the extent to which free trade was enjoyed by Virginia during the Pro- tectorate, 350-352; impost of ten shillings on each hogshead exported, 353 ; advance in charges for freight transported across the ocean, 354; Act of Assembly in 1660, requiring a bond of each shipmaster that he would not molest any foreign trader, 355 ; the Navigation Act of 1660, 356 ; its provisions, 357; evasion of the Act, 357 ; petition of John Bland in opposition to the Act, 360; his rea- sons for objecting to it, 361, 362;

583

cultivation of tobacco in England again prohibited, 3(53; steps taken to enforce the prohibition, 364; re- newed attention paid to the culture of the silk-worm, 305; Virginians who took part in it, 366; efforts of the Ferrers to advance silk hus- bandry, 367 ; character of the Vir- ginian silk-worm so called, 368; legislative encouragement of silk culture, 369; abundance of cattle, 370 ; winter of 1673 causes many to perish, 372; number of cattle owned by leading planters, 372; herds of wild oxen, 373 ; number of horses, 374; sheep husbandry, 376 ; holdings of various planters, 378; measures for the protection of hogs, 378 ; prices of grain, 380; prices in Virginia and England compared, 381 ; number of ships engaged in the Virginia carry- ing trade, 384; revival of the duty of two shillings on each hogshead exported, 386; how collected, 387; the officers employed, 388; decline in the value of tobacco, 389 ; effort to secure a cessation of planting by concert of action between Virginia and Maryland, 390; Baltimore pre- vents the carrying out of' the plan, 392; great storm of 1667, 395; re- wards offered for silk culture, 396 ; the industry fairly successful for a time, 398 ; Berkeley's interest in the husbandry, 400 ; low price of tobacco, 401 ; demand for a cessation refused by the English authorities, 402 ; as- sembly called to meet the emergency, 402 ; the Plant-cutters' Rebellion fol- lows, 405; its destructive effect, 406; tobacco again rises in value, 407; contentment of planters, 407 ; Eng- lish government satisfied with the production of tobacco only in the Col- ony, 408: scheme for the improve- ment of Virginian tobacco, 409; lit- tle disposition to lease lands, 411; the reasons, 411, 412; length and terms of leases, 413 ; case of Reeves and Arrington, 415; system of high- ways in the Colony, 418; bridges, 420; public ferries, 421; general agri-

cultural condition of Virginia at the end of the century, 424, 426 ; com- parison with that of England, 425; natural manures in Virginia, 427; value placed on new grounds, 428; manner of remunerating overseers, 429; its influence, 430; extent of marsh land, 431; the steps taken to redeem it, 431; opinion of Mr. Clay- ton, 432; his experience with a Vir- ginian overseer, 433; varieties of tobacco, 436; the lands adapted to the Oronoco and sweet-scented, 438; the plant bed, 438; time of trans- plantation, 439; manipulation in the field, 440; how handled in the barn, 441; assortment of the tobacco ac- cording to grade and variety, 441 ; regulations affecting the hogshead, 442; final disposition, 443: the re- ceiver, 443; rolling the hogsheads to the wharves, 444 ; transportation in sloops and shallops, 445; character of ships engaged in the trade, 446 ; frequent difficulty in obtaining ships, 447 ; few vessels owned even in part by Virginians, 448; bill of lading, 449; ocean freight rates, 450; ad- vances in time of war, 451 ; ship- ments in bulk, 452; the reasons for it, 452; injury resulting to the roj-al revenue, 453; to the interests of the Colony and planters, 454; proposed remedy, 455 ; price of tobacco, 457 ; amount of tobacco sent to England in 1689, 458; cultivation of the cere- als, 459; amount of wheat produced, 460; implements used in its cultiva- tion, 461 ; sickle and reap hook, 464 ; how threshed, 465; cotton culture, 466 ; decline in interest in silk, 467 ; orchards and varieties of fruit, 468 ; no effort made to improve them, 469; introduction of the olive, 470; culti- vation of the grape, 470 ; experience of Robert Beverley, Jr., 471 ; the breed of Virginian horses in the last dec- ade of the 17th century, 472; their smallness in size, 473; wild horses, and methods used to capture them, 474 ; value of horses, 475; carts, 47(; ; horned cattle, 477 ; marks used, 477 ;

584

cowbells, 478; little attempt made to supply them with food in winter, 479 ; price of cows, bulls and steers, 480; increase in number of sheep, 481 ; number owned by individual planters, 482 ; depredationsof wolves, 483; price of wool, 485; abundance of swine, 485 ; ex^jorts of pork, 486.

Alder, i. 101.

Alderson, Richard, ii. 473.

Ale, ii. 218.

Alewives, i. 112.

Algerians, i. 625; seize English mer- chandise, 43 ; servants, ii. 54.

Algernon, Fort, i. 105.

Alicante wine, i. 244.

Allen, Arthur, i. 536; Ralph, ii. 334.

Allerton, Isaac, i. 390; ii. 317.

Almonds, i. 251.

Amadas, Captain, i. 5, 46, 88, 167, 186.

America, i. 12, 23, 45, 46, 160; Ship, ii. 434.

Amis, i. 284, 287 ; ii. 299.

Amsterdam, i. 351, 354; ii. 314.

Ancient planter, i. 227.

Andrews, Captain, ii. 146, 284; Prof. Charles M., i. 571.

Andros, Governor, i. 553 ; encourages culture of cotton, 46(j, 467 ; the tire in the Secretary's office in time of, 528; ii. 118, 346; suspends Act for advancement of manufactures, 464.

Angela, a negress, ii. 67, 72, 75.

Animals, wild, i. 124-128.

Anthony, ship, ii. 329.

Antigua, i. 352; ii. 77, 328.

Apples, i. 331, 332, 468; crab-apples only found in aboriginal Virginia, 94.

Appomattox, i. 164, 179 ; ii. 346 ; River, i. 210, 511; Indians, i. 141; Queen of, 156.

Apprentices ; see Servants.

Apricot, i. 331, 468.

Aquavitfe, ii. 215, 263, 265.

Arabia, i. 51; ii. 513; coin of, 514.

Arber, Edward, i. 31.

Arbitrators, boards of, appointed, ii; 266.

Archangel, i. 1, 22.

Archer, i. 429.

Archer, James, ii. 174.

Archer's Hope, as a site for the first town, i. 192 ; included in corporate limits of Jamestown, ii. 530; name of creek changed, 563.

Arctic Ocean, i. 22.

Argoll, Samuel, i. 240, 276, 588; ob- serves buffalo in Virginia, 125; re- turns from Potomac River, 158; leaves Virginia with Somers in 1610, 202; visits Newfoundland fisheries, 203; imports horses from Canada, 216; granary at Charles Hundred full of grain at his arrival, 221 ; ar- rives in Colony, 222; adopts meas- ures favorable to agriculture, 222; his action in destroying prosperity of the Colony, 224, 226; imports wheat from Canada, 239 ; confusion in Colony at close of his administra- tion, 251 ; his administration inter- feres with distribution of lands, 504 ; ordered to find a new route to Vir- ginia, 624; ii. 285, 484; his connec- tion with the first slaves, 66, 69; arrives in Virginia on a fishing expe- dition, 269 ; his expedition against Port Royal, 278; resents Piersey's interference, 282 ; breaks up maga- zine, 283; instructions to masters of ships iit 1617, 353 ; adopts measures to promote the trades, 401 ; orders a ship to be built at Point Comfort, 427.

Argoll's Town, i. 207 ; ii. .530.

Arlington, Lord, i. 561, (i07.

Armada, i. 66.

Armenians, two imported by Edward Digges, i. 365, 368.

Arrahattock, i. 91, 146, 179, 198, 208, 319; ii. 530; tribe of Indians, i. 141.

Arrington, William, i. 317, 415, 416, 460.

Artichokes, i. 337.

Arundel, Earl of, i. 64.

Ash Tree, i. 91, 196.

Asheton Estate, i. 475.

Ashton, Henry, ii. 320, 334.

Asia, effort of English to obtain ac- cess to, i. 22.

Asparagus, i. 3.37.

Assembly, in 1623 passed laws for pro- viding grain, and a commission ap-

INDEX

585

pointed for the purpose, i. 274, 275 ; Act of, in KJGO, to prevent masters of English vessels from shutting out foreign competition, 355; premiums to encourage silk-culture, 369; in 1(;69 prohibited the importation of horses, and any brought in were seized and sold, 375 ; they had re- voked the law forbidding their ex- portation, 376; laws prohibiting the exportation of sheep and for the destruction of wolves, 378 ; in 1662, by order from the Privy Council, appointed commissioners to meet representatives from Maryland to confer about restricting culture of tobacco ; they met, but did not agree ; why, 390; in 1666 again sent mes- sengers to Maryland, who agreed not to plant from February, 16()6, to February, 1667 ; and Carolina joined them, 394 ; came to nothing because disapproved by Lord Baltimore, 394 ; in 1661-62 re-enacted law requiring mulberry trees to be planted, and extended time for planting; effect of these regulations, 397 ; took away from silk its tobacco rewards, and repealed mulberry planting law, 398 ; but was compelled by results to re- store premiums, 400: prayed to his Majesty for a cessation of tobacco- planting in 1681 ; but their appeal was refused by Commissioners of Customs in London ; why, 402, 403 ; held a stormy called session about tobacco, but did nothing; a second one summoned, but prevented by frenzy of inhabitants of Gloucester and other counties, who destroyed their own plants and those of their neighbors, 405, 406; cavalry called out, 406; in 1686 passed a carefully- considered law, not enforced, how- ever, for improving the strain of horses and to operate for seven years ; its provisions, 472, 473 ; after dissolution of London Company, from time to time protected the Indians in the possession of their hunting grounds and cultivated fields, 491; repealed the statute

which made it felony in all who sought to establish themselves on north side of York River, 492 ; in 1653 adopted regulations which assured to Pamunkey and Chickahominy Indians protection against all intru- sion, 492; right given to some tribes to dispose of land by deed, if ap- proved by Governor and Council, 492; in 1656 interposed to che(;k sales of land by Indians ; why, 493 ; for- bade the Accomac Indians to alienate their lands, but not so with other aborigines ; in 1661, privilege granted the Chickahominies to dispose of their grounds; how, 496; in 1662 admitted the friction with Indians caused by the encroachments of the English ; what they did and main- tained until, in 1676, war broke out, 497, 498 ; what they did in 1676, as a means of prosecuting hostilities, and how it was previously, 498; in 1674 there was a stern injunction to colo- nists who had seated themselves in territory of Nottoways to withdraw, 498 ; by the Colonial Code of 1776, in addition to head right, power of pur- chasing public lands with coin or tobacco was -allowed, and price for every fifty acres fixed at five shil- lings, 526; legislation to settle dif- ferences as to boundaries which prevailed in 1623-24 ; and as to im- provements made on another's land, 540-543 ; law of processioning ; pro- visions of the law and how carried out, 543, 544, 545; compelled to in- terpose to prevent or punish the gross misconduct of surveyors, 547; also, in 1666, to induce better class of men to follow the profession of surveying, 547 ; approved of com- position entered into by Governor and Secretary with holders of es- cheated lands, 5()7 ; in 1638-39 taxed all passengers arriving at Point Comfort, and towards close of cent- ury this tax was greatly increased on servants of alien birth, (J31 ; peti- tions for mechanics, ii. 402 ; adopts a scale of wages, 415 ; prohibits ex-

586

portation of iron, hides and wool, 452; decides to erect two houses at Jamestown for manufacture of linen, 455; passes law to encourage linen and woollen manufactures, 45G ; pro- visions adopted by, for preparation of leather, 479, 480; prohibits ex- portation of hides, 480 ; requires that estates of testators shall be estimated in coin, 499; passes a law that no debt in money sterling shall be pleadable, 501 ; fixes a value on pieces of eight, 502, 503, 505, 507 ; petitions for the power to enhance the value of all coins, 508; imposes a fine on drawer of a protested bill, 519; seeks to promote the building of towns in Virginia, 539; proposes to move the capital of the colony to Tyudall's Point, 54G.

Asses, i. 39, 248. '

Association for Preservation of Vir- ginia Antiquities, ii. 5(32.

Atterbury, William, ii. 334.

Aubrey, ii. 4()1.

Austin, Samuel, ii. 330.

Australia, i. 13.

Avis, i. 614.

Axes, i. 233, 339.

Babylon, i. 51.

Baccalaos, i. 2.

Bacon (meat), ii. 198, 199.

Bacon, Josiah, ii. 334.

Bacon, Lord, i. 51, 261, 345, 589.

Bacon's Insurrection, i. 193, 400; English soldiers sent to suppress, affected by eating Jamestown weed, 99; flights of wild pigeons observed before, 121; one of the causes of, 359; sheep seized by authorities after, 377 ;ii. 159, 20(i, 545.

Bacon, Nathaniel, Jr., ii. 78, 127, 206, 546 ; attempts during his supremacy to enforce prohibition, 225; causes Jamestown to be burnt, 546; the most conspicuous figure in the his- tory of Virginia in the 17th century after abolition of Company, 576.

Bacon, Nathaniel, Sr., a box attached to his house for bee-martins, i. 120; owns an interest in a vessel, 448 ;

received the quit-rents as auditor, 561 ; ii. 122, 195, 346, 437 ; number of his slaves, 88; their value, 90; his residence, 155; his personal estate, 249; laud patents obtained by, 253; his gift to the poor, 257 ; owns weav- ers, 470: buys a lot at Jamestown, 534; builds at Jamestown, 553; pur- chases a lot at Yorktown, 557.

Baffin Bay, i. 41.

Bagwell, Thomas, ii. 255.

Bailly, Captain, i. 596.

Baker, George, i. 410.

Baldwin, John, ii. 17.

Ball, Joseph, owns a mill, ii. 490; William, 558.

Ballard, Thomas, ii. 159; trustee of Yorktown, 558.

Ballentine, George, ii. 421.

Baltic Sea, i. 42 ; Company, 69.

Baltimore, Lord, i. 348, 392; ii. 244, 254.

Baltimore, ship, ii. 553.

Bancroft, George, ii. 101.

Banister, John, ii. 75.

Barbadoes, i. 349; cattle sent from Virginia to, 298; sugar mills of, turned by Virginian oxen, S21 ; wheat shipped to, from Virginia, 460; political prisoners landed in, 609 ; exportation of servants to, from England, 616 ; ii. 65, 84, 111, 141, 325, 347 ; condition of slaves in, 93, 94 ; sells negroes to Virginians, 324 ; salt exported from, to Virginia, 325; trade of, with Virginia, 325, 328; Fitzhugh ships staves to, 492, 493; bills of exchange drawn on, 516.

Barber, William, sheep owned by, i. 377.

Barker, William, i. 521.

Barkham, i. 490, 491.

Barley, i. 238, 239, 301, 337, 381 ; used in brewing, ii. 212.

Barlow, Captain, 1. 5, 46, 88, 167, 186.

Barns, i. 440.

Barnstaple, i. 384, 620.

Barrett, Captain, i. 609, 628; Thomas, i '^27

Barry, William, i. 600.

Barton, James, ii. 321; Walter, per- sonal estate of, 237.

587

Barwick, John, ii. 328; Captain, dis- patched to Virginia with twenty- five ship carpenters, 429.

Basan, i. 51 ; John, ii. 311.

Basse, Nathaniel, i. 310, 311.

Bassett, Mrs. William, her jewels, ii. 19.-).

Bastards, ii. 109-113; white, 35; ne- gro, 37.

Bats, Richard, ii. 328.

Batte, Tliomas, i. 482 ; amount of cloth in his estate, ii. 1(14.

Banldry, Robert, i. 449, 450.

Bay trees, i.l4().

Bayley, ii.4.59; Samuel, i. 448; Arthur, ii. 334, 379.

Beaching, John, ii. 110.

Beane, Ralph, ii. 324.

Beans, i. 98, 152, 153, 1(57, 179, 251, 3.37.

Beard, Thomas, ii. 328.

Bears, i. 126, 183; character of their meat, 172.

Beaver cod, 1. 262.

Beavers, i. 126 ; meat of, 172 ; skins of, used by Indians, 181 ; ii.323; skins of, used as a medium of exchange, 521.

Beazley, ii. 122.

Becker, Martin, i. 412.

Beckingham, Robert, i. 377 ; his mourn- ing rings, ii. 19.") ; personal estate of 2.50; his store, 385; debts due him in tobacco, 385; owns a mill, 490.

Beds, ii. 342; stuffed with straw and feathers, 163.

Beecher, Sir William, ii. 302.

Beef, i. 211, 339; exports of from Vir- ginia about 1690, 486; price of, in England, 579; ii. 198, 207,264, 265.

Beer, ii. 212, 228, 264, 265: effect of substituting water for, 211 ; from what materials made in Virginia, 213; rating of, in 1639, 220.

Behring Straits, i. 41.

Bellefield, i. 365.

Bennett, i. 265; Richard, plants apple trees, 332 ; the form of land patent during his administration, 517: ii. 72, 75; emancipates a slave, 122: buys a house at Jamestown, 1.".9 ; makes cider, 214: sues Maryland citizens, 323.

Bennett, Secretary, i. 397, 398 ; ii. 434 ;

receives a letter from Lndwell, 545. See also, Arlington, Lord.

Benton, Francis, ii. 334.

Berkeley, John, i. 622 ; emigrates to Virginia with a band of iron-work- ers, ii. 447 ; Lady, i. 103; Lord, 507 ; Maurice, put in charge of iron- works, ii. 449; ordered to supervise erection of salt-works, 484.

Berkeley, Sir William, i. ."48, 408, 507 ; fits out an expedition to find the South Sea, 39, 40 ; refers to health- fulness of Virginia climate, l."9; instructed to take bond of all ship- masters, 293 ; presents Devries with six goats and one ram, 299 ; encour- ages diversification of Virginian agriculture, 330; increase in cattle during his first administration, 332 ; condemns Navigation Acts, 359 ; gives discouraging account of flax culture, 397 ; makes an encouraging report as to silk culture, 397 : refers to small amount of land in Colony redeemed from marsh, 431 ; peti- tioned to grant land to heirs of Freeman, 510; instructed to recall the law allowing payment of quit- rents to be deferred for seven years, 558; estimates population of ser- vants in 1671, 610; instructed to enforce the law ensuring ocean pas- sengers proper comforts, 027 ; or- dered not to allow servants to be turned ashore until their masters had been informed of their arrival, 632. ii. 78, 351, 352; owns brick houses in Jamestown, 1.39, 144; his residence at Green Spring, 153 ; tax- ing provisions for benefit of, 205 ; his coach, 238 ; ordered to draw all craftsmen into towns, 411 : refers to number of ships owned by Virgin- ians in 1671, 4.34 : furnishes his house- hold with woollen cloth of their own manufacture, 401 ; charged withmis- approi)riation of tobacco, 461 : sup- plies Colonel Norwood with a sum of money, 50() : in.structed to encourage building at Jamestown, 5.">5; also to build severalhousesof his own there 538.

588

INDEX

Bermuda Hundred, i. 91, 21(1, 217, 423 ; ii. selected as public place for buying merchandise, 556 ; feoffees of, 558.

Bermudas, i. 04, C6, 253, 269, 290, 308; Spanish tobacco shipped to England along with cargoes from, 293; ii. 293 ; exports from Virginia to, 137 ; Somers and Gates wrecked on, 269; trade with Virginia in 1693, 328. See also, Somers Isles.

Bernard, Colonel, i. 366; Richard, ii. 152.

Bernardo, ii. 443.

Best, Thomas, ii. 408.

Beverley, Robert, Jr., describes the soils of Virginia, i. 77, 78; asserts that there was no individual prop- erty among Indians, 149; plants a large vineyard, 471 ; experiments in making wine, 471; ii. 30, 42, 43; his reference to brick houses, 143; his description of the planters' cook- ing, 203 ; prices of food in his time, 207 ; his comment on the climate of Virginia, 255; his reference to the absence of poverty in Virginia, 257 ; describes repugnance of Virginians to manufactures, 397; criticises shoes made in Virginia, 398 ; charges Nicholson with gross inconsistency, 465.

Beverley, Robert, Sr., charged with using soldiers under his command as guard for governor in felling trees and making and "toating rails," 1. 316; number of hoes in his inventory, 463; number of sheep owned by, 482 : nominated as arbitra- tor in a dispute about a survey, 545 ; size of his personal estate, ii. 18, 88, 161, 251; value of his slaves, 92; his residence, 156 ; value of his furniture, 168; his silverware, 173; land patents acquired by, 253 ; value of his whole estate, 254 ; owned negro mechanics, 405 ; also a tailor, 471 ; feoffee of the town for Middlesex County, 552; a representative man of the 17th century, 576.

Biddcford, i. 384, 620; merchants of, trading with Virginia, ii. 334.

Bills of Adventure, i. 502 ; of Exchange,

payable in England in coin, 302; see Money ; of Lading, 449, 455, 633.

Binford, Walter, ii. 419.

Birch, William, ii. 404.

Birds, i. 114-123. See also names of birds under separate heads.

Biscuit, ii. 264, 265.

Bishop, ii. 491.

Blaekall, John, ii. 334.

Blackberry, i. 96.

Blackraan, Jeremy, i. 335.

Blacksmith, i. 217; ii. 125; number imported in 1607,400; and at later date, 401 ; Thomas Best educated as a, 408; contents of a shop, 418; accounts of, regulated, 419; per- sons following this trade residing in different countries, and the lands owned by them, 419.

Blackwater River, i. 499.

Blaise, James, ii. 247.

Blaithwaite, receives plank from Vir- ginia, ii. 492.

Bland, Edward, i. 551; ii. 323; John, his remonstrance against Naviga- tion Act of 1660, i. 294, 360-362; spends large amount of money on his plantations in Virginia, ii. 380; Theodorick, i. 518, 536.

Blaney, i. 600 ; ii. 289, 291, 293.

Blewit, Captain, superintendent of iron manufacture in Virginia, ii. 447.

Bligh, James, i. 437.

Block Island, ii. 320.

Bluebirds, i. 184.

Blue Ridge Mountains, i. 40, 85.

Blunt Point, i. 311; ii. 355.

Board, charges for, ii. 203, 204.

Bonanova, ship, i. 266.

Bond estate, wool cards belonging to the, ii. 469.

Bond, Samuel, contract of, with Benja- min Brock, ii. 406.

Bonds, example of, given by shipmas- ters under Navigation Acts, i. 359.

Bonoel, i. 241.

Bonoma, i. 51.

Books, ii. 180.

Booth, Robert, i. 482; ii. 141, 142: his silverware, 172 ; a tailor's bill against his estate, 472 ; Thomas, ii. 334 ; Wil- liam, ii. 53.

INDEX

589

Boston, i. 311 ; ii. 320.

Bourue, Robert, ii. 158.

Boush, William, ii. 559.

Bow Church, i. 581.

Bowles, John, ii. 334.

Bows and arrows, i. 170, 171.

Bowyer, Tony, ii. 122.

Boys, John, ii. 24(5; Thomas, ii. 323;

Bracegirdle, John, ii. 237.

Brackley, England, ii. 404.

Bradford, John, ii. 472; Nathaniel, 470,477.

Branch, Christopher, directions given by him in his will, ii. 153.

Brandy, ii. 215-231.

Branker, Nathaniel, ii. 514 ; his jewels, 196.

Brazil, i. 308, 350; methods of cur- ing tobacco in, 409.

Bread, of Indian corn, ii. 201, 202.

Breeches, ii. 190, 192.

Brent, Fulk, ii. 323; Giles, sues a Marylander, 323 ; receives coin from Colonel Fitzhugh, 515; ships plank to England, 492; Margaret, 322.

Brett, John, ii. 328; Robert, 421.

BrewHouse,ii. 211,212.

Brewers, included among early colo- nists, ii. 211.

Brewster, Captain, goes into Monacan country, i. 19 ; Richard, i. 252.

Briar, i.'lOl.

Brice, Thomas, i. 602.

Brick House, The, ii. 144, 549.

Bricklayers, ii. 135-137; number brought in in 1607, 400; at later date, 401 ; wages of, in town build- ing, 540.

Brickmakers, ii. 135-137, 140, 142; wages of, 416; wages of, in town building, 541.

Bricks, ii. 1.34-144, 149, 564; use of, in chimneys, 1.39 ; price of, 142 : brick public buildings, 144 ; brick churches, 144, 145 ; state house constructed of, 5.34.

Bridewell, i. 600.

Bridge, Mrs. Elizabeth, ii. 515 ; Fran- cis, 515 ; Thomas, 317, 321. Bridger, Colonel, ii. 553. Bridges, built at cost of counties in which situated, and maintained by

county levies in tobacco ; in some instances erected by individuals, i. 421 ; when between two counties, Governor and Council ordered courts to appoint commissioners, 421.

Bridgewater, i. 415.

Brigg, Henry, ii. 7.

Bristol, i. 448, 620; ships in Virginia from, 384, 385 ; ii. 85, 338 ; merchants of, trading in Virginia, 334; mer- chants of, build ships in, 438.

Bristow, Captain, i. 600; Robert, ii. 334.

Britain, i. 71.

Brocas, William, mills on plantation of, ii. 487.

Brock, Benjamin, contract of, with Samuel Bond, ii. 406.

Brodbent, Joshua, i. 303.

Brooke, Henry, ii. 89, 142; Nicholas, 89.

Brookes, Thomas, ii. 10.

Brotis, Nicholas, ii. 31.3.

Brown, Alexander, preface, x ; ii. 67; George, 342.

Browne, Henry, ii_. 75; John, 334; Peregrine, 334 ; William, 319.

Bruce, James Douglas, preface, xi.

Bryce, John, ii. 334.

Bryn Mawr College, preface, xi ; 1. 571.

Buckingham County, i. 82.

Buckingham, Marquis of, i. 269.

Buckles, of brass, steel and silver, ii. 191.

Buckner, John, ii. 88; purchases a lot at Yorktown, 557; Thomas, .334.

Buckskins, i. 181; a coat of, ii. 191; value of, 483.

Buffalo, i. 125, 170.

Bulk tobacco, i. 452^55.

Bullington, Margery, ii. 198.

Bullock, Hugh, owns corn mills, ii. 487 ; also saw mills, 491 ; James, 473; William, states what articles emigrants should carry to Virginia, i. :!40-344: calculates the time that should be taken in making the voyage to Virginia, 624: estimates the cost of the passage, 630; ii. 46, 50, 51, 140, 1.58, 245; his advice about building houses, 150; esti-

I mates cost of living in Virginia, 205.

590

INDEX

Bulls, prices of, in lfi40-45, i. 333, 334,

478; value of, about 1(J88, 480. Burbage, Mrs., i. 36(j ; Thomas, ii. 333,

3G6. Burgesses, House of, ii. 44, 45; the wealthiest planters members of, 378 ; protest by, against imposition of new duties on tobacco, 4G7 ; reply of, to Howard respecting payment of quit-rents in coin, 508, 509. See Assembly. Burials, ii. 217, 235, 236; Abraham

Piersey buried in his garden, 149. Burk, Richard, ii. 141. Burke, Edmund, shows the effect of the institution of slavery on charac- ter of the Southern Colonists, ii. 568. Burleigh, Lord, i. 24. Burnett, John, ii. 329. Burnham, John, i. 545. Burrough, Roger, ii. 334. Burwell, ii. 564. Bushell, John, ii. 22. Bushrod, ii. 213; Elizabeth, ii. 249,

507 ; Thomas, ii. 329. Butler, Governor, his unmasking of Virginia, i. 109; his sufferings near Jamestown, 131 ; refers t'^ great mortality in Virginia, 134 ; his refer- ence to wine-making and silk cul- ture, 245; his letter to Sir George Yeardley, 1621, 251 ; describes the houses of Virginia in 1623, ii. 148; refers to glass furnace at James- town, 443. Butler, Thomas, ii. 342. Butter, i. 339; ii. 209, 274; price of,

209. Buttons, ii. 190. Butts, Thomas, i. 448. Buzzards, i. 118. Byrd MSS., preface, ix. Byrd, William, Jr., i. 125, 129. Byrd, William, Sr., forwards tobacco to Eugland in different vessels, i.446 ; complains of scarcity of shipping, 447; also great losses of tobacco at sea, 477 : brought in debt by his inter- est in a ship, 449 ; ships 200 hhds. to England at £14 a ton, 451 ; contracts for Northern ships to transport his tobacco, 451 ; ships tobacco in bulk.

4.52: writes a treatise against ship- ments in bulk, 455; refers to low price of tobacco, 457-8; orders ser- vants from England, 621 ; ii. 83, 84, 108, 159, 325, 341, 342; takes up a large area of land, 79 ; small-pox in his family, 82 : his family servants, 102; imports glass, 159; refers to his flowers and fruits, 161; buys silver in England, 170; his wigs, 191; orders wine for Council, 218; value of his personal estate, 252 ; his land patents, 253 ; estate of, 254, 255 ; im- ports sugar and molasses from West Indies, 325 ; complains of scarcity of English vessels in Virginian waters, 337 ; articles imported by him from England, 340, 341 : as a trader, 377 ; acquires large grants of land, 380; imports mechanics from England, 403; relies but little on slave me- chanics, 405 ; ships specimens of iron ore to England, 454; owns a mill- stone, 489; also two grist mills, 490; a representative man of the 17th century, 576.

Cabbages, i. 251.

Cabot, John, i. 2.

Cadiz, i. 13, 66.

Cahill, Bryant, ii. 474, 559.

Calderwood, Robert, ii. 328.

Calf, ii. 205.

California, i. 13, 472.

Callen, Isaac, his store and its con- tents, ii. 384.

Calthorpe, Christopher, i. 421.

Calthorpe estate, number of cattle in i. 372.

Calvert, Leonard, ii. 322, 323; William Heyward, ii. 477.

Calvert's Neck, ii. 549.

Cambaya, i. 239.

Campbell, Charles, i. 165: Hugh, ii. 321.

Canada, i. 216, 239; ii. 521.

Canary Isles, i. 64, 401, 624; ii. 347, 492.

Canary wine, ii. 216-231.

Candles, ii. 184.

Candlesticks, ii. 184.

Canhow, ii. 9.

591

Canterbury, ii. 1.

Cape Merchant, Smitk delivers corn to, at Jamesto^\Ti, i. 38; fifteen hun- dred acres granted to, 229; asks the Company to import ploughs, 250; purchases tobacco crop of the plant- ers, 253 ; all bad tobacco brought to, to be burnt, 303, 304; ii. 4!)6; bow appointed, 2()2; martial laws relat- ing to, 273 ; Abraham Piersey comes over as, 281 ; ArgoU dissipates the supplies of, 282 ; Piersey desires free rates for, 285 ; Blaney appointed, 1G20, 289; bad tobacco passed upon by, 290.

Capes, Charles, ii. 483; Fear, i. .309; Good Hope, i. 22, 41; Horn, i. 22; Henry, i. 79, 83, 87, 101, 108, 110, 178 ; ii. 443.

Capons, ii. 206, 210.

Capps, William, i. 136 ; attributes sick- ness in Virginia to gross uncleanli- ness in ships, 136; maize produced by servants of, 252; instructed to manufacture iron in Virginia, ii. 450 ; also bay salt, 485.

Caribbees, ii. 300 ; the Indians of, 64.

Carleton, Dudley, i. 16, (JG; Richard, 602.

Carlile, Christopher, i. 9, 12, 13, 42, 54, 59, 60.

Carling, Joseph, ii. 479.

Carman, Henry, ii. 41, 42.

Carolina, i. 329, 394.

Carpenters, imported in 1607, ii. 400; at later date, 401 ; wages in 1662, 416 ; wages of, on sloop of war, 417 ; earliest grants to, 422 ; private con- veyances to, 423; act as attorneys, 424 ; tools of, 425 ; wages of, in town building, 541.

Carpenter, John, ii. 474.

Carpets, ii. 166, 340.

Carrington, Paul, ii. 325.

Carrots, i. 25] , 3.37.

Carter, Francis, ii. 248; John, 1. 480, 598 ; number of sheep owned by, 482 ; ii. 78, l."2, 160 ; negroes owned by, 87, 88; emancipates certain slaves, 124; land patented by, and his son, 252 ; personal estate of, 2.50 ; John, Jr., owns negro mechanics,

405 ; Robert, 490 ; feoffee of the Lan- caster town, 558; William, i. 519.

Carts, i. 476.

Cart-wheels, i. 476.

Cartwright, Robert, ii. 423.

Cary, James, ii. .334; .John, 333, 334; Miles, i. 247, 535. 5.36.

Casks ; see Hogsheads.

Castile, i. 66.

Caswell, Richard, i. 594; ii. 294, 295.

Catchman, Richard, ii. 317.

Cate, Robert, ii. 478.

Caterpillar, 1. 368.

Catillah, Mathew, ii. 54.

Catlett, John, i. .545; ii. 3G, 246.

Cattapeuk, the Indian spring, i. 177.

Cattle, i. 202, 215, 231; what protec- tion given them in winter, 206 ; pro- visions for preservation of, under Dale's martial laws, 216 ; number in Colony at beginning of Argoll's ad- ministration, 222; number in Vir- ginia in 1620, 247; prices of, 1()20, 248 ; imported into Virginia from Ireland, 249; prices of, 1627, 296; number during Harvey's adminis- tration, 311 ; the fence law for pro- tection against, 313 ; not subject to taxation, ii. 104; excepted from pro- visions of Cohabitation Act of 1680, 550. See Cows, Steers, Oxen.

Cattle marks, i. 477.

Cauliflower, i. 251.

Caune, Dephebus, i. 274.

Causwell, Mathew, ii. 423.

Cedars, i. 47, 48; plank made of, ii. 492.

Cessation, people of Virginia petition for a cessation in tobacco culture, i. ,389; commissioners of Virginia and Maryland convene at Wicocom- ico to discuss the ad^^sability of, ."190 ; Maryland Assembly refuses to ac- cede to, 390; Lord Baltimore shows the evils of, for tlie people of Mary- land, 392 ; General Assembly of Vir- ginia, in 1666, send messengers to Maryland to induce the authorities to consent to a, 393 ; Virginia, Mary- land, and Carolina agree upon, 394; Lord Baltimore disapproves of, and the scheme falls through, 394 ; appeal

592

of Virginians in 1681 for, refused by comniissiouers of customs, 402.

Chaerett, Christian, i. (514.

Chairs, ii. 165, 342.

Challous, voyage of, i. 137.

Chamberlain, i. 16.

Chamberlayne, Thomas, ii. 151.

Chambers, Abraham, ii. 42

Chauey, Henry, ii. 473.

Charles the First, adopts his father's proclamations respecting tobacco, i. 281 ; condemns planters' devotion to tobacco culture, 285 ; appoints com- missioners in 1634, 289 ; forbids cul- tivation of tobacco in England, 290 ; urges planters to produce tar and pitch, 298; urges diversification of crops in Virginia, 320 ; effect of the execution of, in Virginia, 349 ; con- firms letters patent with reference to grants of land, 515 ; ii. 74.

Charles the Second, i. 472, 558, 608, 611 ; prohibits cultivation of tobacco in England, 363 ; presents a servant with 2000 acres of land, 510.

Charles City, i. 229, 571; ii. 403, 530.

Charles City County, population of, in 1634, i. 319; town building in, ii. 548 ; tobacco of, to be transported to Jamestown, 542, 556.

Charles, Hundred, i. 215, 220, 221, 222, 225, 228 ; Parish, ii. 257 ; River, i. 39, .300; Ship, ii. 325.

Charlton, Stephen, i. 448.

Charter, of 1606, ii. 261; of 1609, 268; of 1612, 275.

Cheese, ii. 274, 296, 341.

Cheesman, Margaret, ii. 170.

Chelsea, i. 109.

Cheltenham, i. 364.

Cherry, i. 94, 332, 417, 468.

Cherry Stone Creek, ii. 556.

Chesapeake, Bay, i. 26, 27, 73, 87, 103, 105, 107, 108, 109, 111, 113, 115, 116, 125, 156, 273, 371, 567 ; ii. 346, 495 ; tribe, i. 27, 141.

Cheskiack, i. 142; the palisade to, from Martin's Hundred, 39, 300 ; inspection of tobacco at, 305 ; In- dians, i. 142, 497 ; ii. 257 ; permitted to trade with English under special regulations, 389.

Chesterfield county, ii. 448.

Chestnut trees and nuts, i. 93, 167, 168.

Chests, ii. 165.

Chew, John, i. 510, 518 ; ii. 333, 366 ; resides at Jamestown, 379, 531.

Chewning, Robert, i. 545.

Chieheley, Sir Henry, i. 366 ; ii. 42.

ChJckacony, selected as site for a town, ii. 549.

Chickahominy, i. 158; Indians of, 141, 143, 145, 492, 494, 496 ; River, 80, 104, 143, 319, 511.

Chickens, ii. 206. See Poultry.

Chiles, Walter, i. 350.

Chilton, George, ii. 473.

China Seas, the, i. 22.

Chinquapins, i. 93, 167, 168.

Chippoak, i. 319.

Chiskeack. See Cheskiack.

Chisman, Captain, ii. 89; Edward, erects a mill, 489; Thomas, manu- factures linen, 458; purchases a lot at Yorktown, 557.

Chitwood, Thomas, ii. 334.

Choanoke, i. 27.

Chowne, Josephine, ii. 49.

Churches, preface, vii ; church at Mid- dle Plantation, ii. 144; the brick church at Henrico, 529.

Churchill, William, feoffee of the town in Middlesex county, ii. 558.

Cider, ii. 214; drunk at meetings of court, 218 ; prices of, 228.

Cinque Ports, i. 618 ; ii. 284.

City companies, invest in bills of ad- venture, ii. 266; a successful appeal to, by Loudon Com^mny, 277.

City, Thomas, ii. 334.

Claiborne, Leonard, i. 412; William, his approval of the Goring contract, i. 288; transfers cattle to Kent Is- land, 298; offers with Mathews to erect a palisade, 300 ; with Mathews builds the palisade, 312; appointed surveyor of the Colony, 533, 534 ; his patents to land, ii. 252.

Clapboard, i. 50, 211 ; ii. 492.

Claret, i. 471 ; ii. 216-231.

Clark, John, i. 616, ii. 1, 246; Robert, i. 442.

Clarke, Bartholomew, ii. 1, 2.

593

Claxton, John, ii. 255.

Clayton, Rev. John, i. 84, 88, 122, 123, 127, 431; refers to the night raven, 118; to wolves, 125, 125; hnds rattlesnakes near Jamestown, 12!); Secretary Spencer tells him of the freezing over of the Potomac, 131 ; his visit to Jamestown, 189, 190; his account of the site of Jamestown, 193; impressed by the quantity of shells in the Virginian soil, 427 ; his experience with a Virginian over- seer, 432-434; refers to yield of wheat in Virginia, 464; mentions value of horses, 475; his interest in the preservation of Virginian cattle, 479; ii. 144; his opinion of Virginian bacon, 198; John, Jr., i. 116; ii. 246.

Climate of Virginia, i. 130-132.

Cloptou, William, ii. 231.

Cloth, i. 54; ii. 168, 188; importations of, by Fitzhugh, 341 ; by Byrd, 343, 344; manufacture of linen, 454-459; of woollen, 460-473. See Wool.

Clothing, Indian style of dress, 1. 181- 185 ; articles of, the emigrant should carry to Virginia, 339, 340; ii. 186- 195; for beds, 163; ladies' dresses, 193; sent to Francis Perkins, 264; martial laws relatino- to, 273; sup- plies of, 290 ; laws as to engrossing and forestalling of, 3()0; tailors' charges for making, 472, 473.

Clothworkers' Company, ii. 267.

Coat, ii. 191.

Cobbs, Edmund, ii. 155; Robert, 249.

Cock, Anthony, ii. 3;>4.

Cocke, Thomas, i. 416; ii. 103; manu- factures linen, 459 ; owns a tiour mill, 490 ; William, owns looms, 470 ; Maurice, 558 ; owns a lot at Bermuda Hundred, 558.

Cocquet, ii. 349.

Cod, i. 203.

Cohabitation Acts, ii. 158, 412, 413, 547-552.

Cohattayough, the Indian summer, i. 177.

Cohonk, the Indian winter, i. 177.

Coin, exportation of, considered dan- gerous to the State, i. 52, 53. See Money.

2Q

Cole, William, ii. .383; purchases a lot at Yorktown, 557.

Coleman, Anthony, ii. 444.

Collars, i. 476.

Collectors, i. 388; ii. 512.

College, East India, mechanics con- nected with college lands, ii. 136. See University.

Collins, John, ii. 469.

Colonization, first English expedition to America, i. 2 ; expedition of Sir Humphrey Gilbert, 2-4; Raleigh ob- tains letters patent and sends out Amadas and Barlow, 5 ; expedition to Roanoke Island, 5; Gosnall, Pring, and Weymouth, 6; reasons for, 6-11 ; the desire for gold, 11-15 ; provisions made for the discovery of gold in Virginia, 16; attempts to find gold, 17-20; the desire to dis- cover the South Sea, 21 ; expeditions for the discovery ot the Northwest Passage to the South Sea previous to the foundation of Jamestown, 22-24 ; the London Company justified in thinking tbat the route to the South Sea lay through Virginia, 25-27; Newport's first voyage to the Falls, 28 ; reports among Indians as to the proximity of the South Sea, 29-,33; Newport's expedition into the Mona- can country in search of the South Sea, 36-38; the expectation of find- ing the route to the South Sea through Virginia lingered as late as 1670, 3S-40; the third motive for colonization was the expectation that Virginia would supply a large number of articles which the English people were compelled to buy from foreign nations, 41 ; the articles pur- chased by England of these foreign nations, 42-44; special productions which Virginia could supply Eng- land with, 45-49; culture of tobacco defeats one of the main objects of, 51 ; fourth motive for, was to avoid ex- portation of coin in purchasing sup- plies needed by E!igland,52,53; fifth motive: it would create a new mar- ket for English woollen goods, 54, 55; sixth motive: it would promote

594

INDEX

growth of British shipping by swell- ing the volume of ocean freight, 56, 57; seventh motive: it would fur- nish a vent for the surplus population of England, 58-()0; eighth motive: it would raise a barrier in the West against the Spanish Power, 61-65 ; expected to propagate the Christian religion among the Indians, 66-68; the Virginia Company of London was a commercial organization trad- ing in joint stock, 69, 72.

Colsell, John, i. 457.

Columbia River, i. 111.

Columbus, i. 21.

Combs, Charles, ii. 470.

Commissioners of Customs, ii. 509.

Condon, David, ii. 217.

Conner, Lewis, ii. personal estate of, 250.

Conquer, ship, i. 612.

Conspiracies, ii>29-31.

Constable, John, ii. 302.

Constables, ii. 118.

Contracts, for tobacco, i. 277-288.

Conway, Edwin, owns a lot in the Lan- caster town, ii. 558; Hugh, ii. 50.

Conyers, John, i. 431.

Cooke, Nathaniel, ii. 326.

Cooper, John, ii. 201, 333, 334, 379, 384, 477; Mary, i. 614; Thomas, ii. 334; Samuel, ii. 506.

Coopers, ii. 81, 401, 420, 422.

Copeland, Rev. Mr., i. 581 ; ii.

Copper, i. 33, 34, 42, 45, 47, 48, 82, 83, 161, 183, 184.

Corbett, John, ii. 49.

Corbin, Gawin, ii. 334; Henry, i. 545.

Cordage, i. 41, 45.

Corkliill, Richard, ii. 334.

Cornelius, Reignard, ii. 312.

Cornwallis Family, 'A. 266.

Corotoman, i. 104, 142, 416; ii. 549; River, ii. 390.

Corwin, Jonathan, ii. 320.

Cottington, Lord, i. 63.

Cotton'^ i. 194, 246, 260, 262, 466, 467 ; tobacco crop, as compared with, ii. 368.

Coulbourne, Colonel, ii. 22.

Courts of law, when the first monthly courts in Colony established, i. 571.

Coventry, Lord, i. 402.

Cowes, England, i. 292.

Cowles, Edmund, ii. 326.

CoM'S, i. 202, 370 ; price of, in 1620, 250 : prices of, in 1645, 333 ; running wild in York County, 1685, 477 ; value of, in 1688, 480.

Cox, ii. 425 ; Richard, 334.

Coxendale, ii. 530.

Craik, Elizabeth, ii. 108.

Cranes, i. 118.

Cranford, Lionel, i. 225, 269.

Crashaw, Rev. Mr., i. 9, 10, 60.

Creighton, Charles, i. 136.

Crew, Randall, ii. 75.

Crews, ii. 472; silver belonging to es- tate, 171.

Creyk, Henry, ii. 459, 463.

Crickman, John, ii. 439.

Criminals. See Servants.

Crisp, William, ii. 334.

Cromwell, i. 352, 356, 605, 608, 610; prohibits tobacco culture in Eng- land, 363, 364 ; ii. 310.

Croshaw, Joseph, number of his horses, i. 375 ; sheep owned by, 376 ; ii. 142 ; his silverware, 172 : his pictures, 174; his daughter's cloth- ing, 194 ; owns woollen-wheels, 469 ; Richard, undertakes to build a house at Jamestown for York county, 544.

Croshaw Estate, number of cattle in, i. 372.

Crouch Estate, i. 376.

Crown, ship, i. 363.

Crows, i. 118.

Croyden, ii. 186.

Cuba, ii. 58.

Culpeper, Alexander, i. 535.

Culpeper, Lord, i. 369, 561, 568, 570; describes mortality in the fleet bringing him to Virginia, 138 ; com- ments upon the contentment of the Virginians in 1684, 407; Fitzhugh pro- poses to buy a large body of land from, 537 ; instructed to apply quit- rents to the erection of a fort, 563; one of the proprietaries of Northern Neck, 567 ; despairs of silk culture, 585 ; the King orders him to allow im- portation of Scotch prisoners, 611; ii. 10, 78, 79, 82, 351, 352, 361 ; instructed

595

to establish workhouses, 25G ; de- nies the existence of engrossing and forestalling in 1681, 37G; in- structed to establish markets and fairs, 391; wages of carpenters dur- ing his administration, 417 ; receives a petition from John Page, 4o8 ; sug- gests a law for encouragement of linen and woollen manufacture, 45() ; passes depreciated coin on soldiers sent to suppress the Insurrection, 508; instructed to rebuild James- town, 546; suggests the passage of Cohabitation Act of 1680, 547.

Culpeper, Lord, the second, i. 568,570.

Culpeper, Thomas, i. 567.

Cumber, John, ii. 424.

Cumberland, Earl of, i. 1.

Cunningham, Professor, i. 58.

Curacoa, ii. 324.

Curie, Thomas, i. 414 ; Pascho, ii. 146.

Curlew, i. 115.

Currants, i. 470.

Curriers. See Tanners.

Currotoman, fort at, ii. 346. See Coro- toman.

Curtains, ii. 163.

Curtis, James, ii. 558.

Custis, Edmund, i. 352.

Custom House, i. 326, .327; Harvey recommends the erection of a, ii. 302.

Customs, royal revenue curtailed by loss of, on tobacco not shipped to England, i. 347; planters must transfer all their products to Eng- land to assure payment of, 348 ; in deference to Navigation Act, a duty of ten shillings was placed on every hogshead of tobacco bought in the Colony with Dutch goods and afterwards exported in Dutch or English vessel bound for a foreign or American port; but no duty if in English ship to discharge cargo in England, 353; ten shillings reim- posed on every hogshead exported on a ship not chartered to dis- charge cargo in English dominions in Europe, 355; tobacco in Virginia vessels exempt by Act of 1658, ;!56 ; great advance in English wheat in

1673, 1674, and 1678 would not have enabled colonists to surmount bar- rier which customs created, 382 ; duty of two shillings a hogshead repealed in 1659, but revived in 1662, and source of large revenue ; ex- pected to take place of poll tax; operations of this duty considered and how it was paid, or secured, 386, 387 ; between 1662 and 1679, neces- sary to pass special law for collec- tion of tax in Northumberland and other counties on account of eva- sions there and loss of revenue, 387, 388 ; when tobacco on which tax had been paid was seized by public enemy, its owners were allowed to send out an equal quantity duty- free, 388; in 1()80, tax again fixed at two shillings, ibayable only in current coin of England, and strin- gent regulations to prevent and punish evasions, 388; in 1667, Vir- ginia was paying into English treasury 100,000 pounds sterling, and yet condition of her people one of desperation, 401 ; customs re- mained the same, however extreme the fluctuations in the value of commodity on which they were levied, 403; great loss to royal rev- enue from frauds when tobacco was shipped to England in bulk, also to the Colony and to the planters; — reasons, 453, 454. See Duties.

Cutts, Mrs., ii. 80.

Cymblins, i. 152.

Cypress, i. 91, 196.

Dairy, ii. 176.

Dalby, Dennis, ii. 421.

Dale, Sir Thouuxs, i. 233, 587 ; his view as to Virginia being a vent for sur- plus population of England, 60 ; declares that Virginia would check Spanish Power, 61 ; describes his first impression of Virginia, 74; catches many fish, 112; calculates number of bowmen among Chicka- hominy Indians, 143 ; letter to Salis- bury, 156; arrives in Virginia, 204; arrives at Jamestown and finds set-

596

tiers playing bowls, 205; measures adopted by, after bis arrival, 206 ; visits Paspabeigli, 207 ; writes to Salisbury, 208; erects a new town at Henrico, 208, 210; compels colo- nists to plant maize, 212 ; establishes a system of tenancy, 213, 214 ; bene- fits allowed new comers by, 215; live stock in Virginia during bis administration, 216 ; the different settlements of Colony in his time, 217; products shipped to England while he was governor, 218; no plough in Colony at this time, 219 ; products carried to England by him in 1616, 219; returns to England, 220 ; work performed by him in Vir- ginia, 220, 222; good effects of his administration destroyed by Argoll, 225 ; silkworms imported in time of, 240; failure of effort by, to produce wine, 244; privileges allowed by, to every one who had emigrated to Colony previous to his return, 511, 512; his proposition to intro- duce criminals, 592, 593 ; time taken by, to make the voyage to Virginia, 624 ; ii. 401 ; mechanics brought over by, in 1611, 135 ; his ship arrives in Virginia, 272; martial laws of, 273; supplies in Colony in time of, 274 ; probably knew of the existence of iron ore near the Falls of the Pow- hatan, 445, 446; builds Henricopolis, 528.

Dale's Gift, i. 21G ; ii. 483.

Daly, George, ii. 334.

Dan, river, i. 125.

Danberry, i. 86.

Danger field, John, ii. 420.

Daniell, John, ii. 473; William, 558.

Dantzick, i. 57.

Dartmouth, i. 384, 620; ii. 313.

Davenant, project of, to import weav- ers into Virginia, ii. 461.

Davis, silver belonging to the estate, ii. 171.

Davis, Major Charles, 1. 431 ; Hopkins, 441; James, 205, 217; John, 24, 98; ii. 252,473; Edward, ii. 347; Hugh, 109.

Davis' Straits, i. 24.

Dawen, Mr., manufacture of salt by, ii. 48(i.

De Hart, Daniel, ii. 315.

De Long, Captain, i. 22.

Deacon, Thomas, size of estate of, ii. 247.

Dealboard, i. 46.

Dean, Samuel, ii. 334.

Deane, Ralph, ii. 143.

Debtors, obligations of, and punish- ments of, in case of default, ii. 371, 372.

Deep Creek, ii. 548, 556.

Deer, i. 124, 125. See Hides, Duties.

Delaware Bay, i. 121.

Delaware, Lord, i. 9; first arrival in Colony, 17-19, 202, 205, 206, 587, 592; Crashaw's sermon before, 60; his arrival at Jamestown, 133; stricken with ague, 134; promotes cultivation of soil, 203 ; tests virtue of native grape, 203; leaves Vir- ginia in consequence of sickness, 204; sent to Virginia to succeed Argoll, 226 ; experiments in wine making, 244 ; reaches Virginia with his ships, ii. 270, 271 ; size of James- town when he arrived, 527.

Delawater, Lionel, ii. 347.

Delbridge, John, i. 274.

Denbigh, i. 305, .365.

Denerell, Edward, ii. 417.

Denmark, i. 42, 50, 393.

Depre, Joseph, ii. 419.

Derbyshire, James, ii. 419, 558.

Derrickson, Captain, ii. 308, 311.

Desire, ship, ii. 370.

Devonshire, i. 363.

Devries, Captain, detects at sea odors of woods, 88; refers to the number of wild pigeons, 121 ; also to mortal- ity in Colony, 137; leaves James- town in 1633 with six goats and one ram, 299; finds thirty-six sail at Blunt Point in 1635, 311 ; refers to fluctuations in annual fortunes of Virginia people, 312 ; finds planters, in 1643, sowing wheat, 329; ii. 307, 324; visits a carpenter at New- port's News, 199; visits the Colony, 303; his high opinion of Virginia trading capacity, 304 ; advises erec-

597

tion of private storehouses, 331 ; uuable to repair his ship at James- town, 431.

Dewberry, i. 96.

Dickiusoii, Arthur, riugs of, ii. Iil5.

Digby, Lord, i. 63, 66.

Digges, Dudley, purchases a lot at Yorktowu, ii. 557; Edward, i. 365; ii. 416; William, 557; Elizabeth, number of slaves owned by, 88; her residence, 155 ; tablecloths owned by, l(i7 ; her silverware, 172 ; her pictures, 174 ; furniture in her house, 182-184; and mourning rings, 195; her personal estate, 249.

Digges' Neck, i. 436. •

Dil,' Edmund, ii. 232.

Dislies, i. 339 ; ii. 168.

Distilleries, ii. 213.

Ditchfield, i. 278-281, 287.

Dixon, Adam, ii. 48 ; cost of his house, 149.

Dodson, ii. 295.

Dog, i. 126.

Dole, Benjamin, ii. 126.

Dolphin, ship, i. 354; ii. 313, 318.

Dorislaus, Dr., i. 350.

Dove, i. 120.

Drake, Sir Francis, i. 1, 29, 66 ; John, ii. 334.

Drayton, i. 15, 87.

Drinking vessels, ii. 169, 171 ; water, i. 101.

Drogheda, i. 608.

Drummond, lake, i. 101.

Drummond, William, ii. 3.30; aids in building brick fort at Jamestown, 144 ; burns his own house, 546.

Drunkenness in Colony, ii. 216, 219, 220.

Dryden, James, ii. 334.

Drysdale, William, i. 602.

Dublin, merchants of, trading with Virginia, ii. 3.34.

Ducks, i. 172, 182, 183; varieties of, in Virginia, 115; ii. 211.

Dudley, Eobert, i. 482; ii. .52; owns foi-ks, 169 ; his wigs, 191 ; buys a lot in the Middlesex town, 558.

Duke. George, i. 610.

Dun, Mrs. Temperance, ii. 383.

Duudas, William, ii. 328.

Dunkirk, i. 352.

Dujiort, Stephen, ii. .334.

Dutch, enlarge their trade, in the six- teenth century, with Russia, i. 42; Dutclimen sent to Virginia, 1608,49; Raleigh's pamphlet on the trade of, 57 ; superiority of, in maritime affairs, 57 ; England seeks to pre- vent the, in 1636, from exporting Virginia tobacco, 293 ; first Naviga- tion Act passed partly to cripple the, 349 ; greater cheapness of trans- portation in the vessels of, as com- pared with those of the English, 350: ships of, set out from Virginia for Holland in 1651 and 1652,^351; tobacco purchased in Colony with goods of, 353; price they paid for Virginia tobacco before first Navi- gation Act, 354; removal of the competition with, signifies decline in the price of tobacco, 355; As- sembly in 1658 includes the, among those to whom ample protection in trading with Virginia would be af- forded, 356; ships of, navigated at a cheap rate, 361 ; four men-of-war belonging to, in the James River in 1667, 385; system of agriculture of the, 426; mould board an invention of, 462 ; first slaves introduced by, into Virginia, 572; a, servant, ii. 24; colony at New Amsterdam , 25 ; man- of-war lands first slaves, 65 ; negroes imported by, previous to 1650, 76; a, merchant, 284; early trade of, with Virginia, 292, 293; all ships of, dealing with Virginia to give bond to sail to Loudon, 305 ; ship masters required to take out license, 306; West India Company, 308; trade with, 1649, 309; imports into Vir- ginia during Protectorate, 310 ; ex- ample of chart erjjarty with, shippers, 311; trade of, with Eastern Shore, 311 ; trade of New Englanders with, 321 ; destroys a fleet of Virginia mer- chant men, 345; attack Virginia mer- chantmen, 1672, 373; cost of shoes during time of, importation of goods, 375 ; competition between English merchants and, 376 ; furnished abo-

598

INDEX

rigines with weapons and ammu- nition, 38U; pay for cargoes from Virginia in mercliaudise, 394; men introduced from Holland for the purpose of erecting saw-mills, 430; accompany Newport to Virginia, 440; effect of the exclusion of, on prices of merchandise, 4G6; the lion or dog dollar in circulation on the Eastern Shore, 513. See Holland.

Dutch Gap, i. 20»J; ii. 528.

Dutch man-of-war, ii. 67.

Duties ou cargoes, ii. 339; castle charges, 349-351 ; imposed on wines aud sugar, 357. See Customs.

Duty, ship, i. 266.

Dwight, Benjamin, ii. 327.

Dwina, river, i. 26.

Eagles, i. 117, 183.

Eale, William, ii. 141.

Ealf ridge, John, ii. 439.

East, Thomas, i. 416.

East India College, i. 229, 230, 232. See College, University.

East India, Company, i. 53, 69; in- terested in London Company. 25; exports meal, 258, 259; attempts to establish a free school at Charles City, ii. 403 ; buys ore from Virginia, 447; Sea, i. 39; Merchandise, 354.

East Indies, i. 53.

Eastern Shore, i. 76, 387, 632; grasses on, 100 ; deer abundant on, 124 ; In- dians on, 143 ; proposition for the planters to retire to, after massacre of 1622, 273 ; case of Walter Chiles, 350; Indian tribe inhabiting, 495; ii. 70, 85; A^alue of slaves on, 92; a wooden parsonage erected ou, 153; Norwood's visit to the, 202; Dutch merchants trading with the, 311 ; smuggling carried on on the, 329; safe harbor selected for the, 346; ships arriving at, 351 ; Indian popu- lation of, granted free trade, 388; the lion or dog dollar in circulation on, 513; beaver used as money on, 521 ; town ordered to be built on the, 540.

Edinburgh, ii. 330.

Edmond and Elizabeth, ship, ii. 417.

Edmunds, Thomas, ii. 311.

Educatiou, preface, vii. ; children ap- prenticed taught to read, ii. 408.

Edwards, Lewis, i. 602 ; Philip, ii. 321 ; William, 439.

Egerton, Charles, ii. 324.

Eggleston, Edward, i. 155.

Elam, Martin, owns looms, ii. 470.

Elbing, i. 57.

Elcock, James, ii. 144.

Elder, John, ii. 474.

Elfrith, Captain, ii. 67, 69.

Elizabeth, City, silk-men at, i. 242; erection of a court at, 571 ; ii. 346 ; inn at, 136 ; pinnace driven ashore at, 431 ; River, i. 113, .320 ; ii. 24, 345, 428; Ship, i. 219; ii. 277, 311.

Elizabeth City County, i. 413, 414, 429 ; records of, preface, ix ; Mrs. Naylor leases her orchard in, 469 ; value of cattle in, about 1690, 480 ; owners of sheep in, 481, 482; prizes given by, for destruction of wolves, 483; prices of sheep in, 484, 485 ; exports of pork from, in 1699, 486; prices of slaves in, ii.91 ; silverware owned by its citizens, 172; personal estates in, 250; value of land in, 253; a store in, 381 ; a family of thieves infest- ing, 409 ; ordered to supply men for building fort at Point Comfort, 417 ; land owned by coopers in, 421 ; ship-builders living in, 439 ; manu- facture of linen in, 459; weavers residing in, 470; manufacture of pitch and tar in, 493; coin in inven- tories of, 515, 556 ; town building in, 548.

Elizabeth, Queen, i. 1, 23; ii. 63.

Elk, river, ii. 22.

Elkens, ii. 293.

Elliott, Abraham, ii. 439.

Ellis, Thomas, ii. 334; William, 232.

Ellyott, Anthony, i. 609.

Ellyson, Dr. Robert, ii. 232.

Ellzeye, John, ii. 73.

Elms, i. 48, 93.

Emperor, Francis, i. 446, 448; his widow, ii. 157; imports goods from New England, 318; Sarah, 459

Endeavor, ship, i. 575.

Eudicott, John, ii. 81.

599

England, i. 224, 230, 428; Newport returns to, 16 ; belief in, as to the proximity of the South Sea to Vir- ginia, 26; withdrawal of coin from, by East India Company, 53 ; market of, in United States, 51J ; vessels sent by, into Holland in the sixteenth century, 57; Virginia expected to furnish a vent for surplus popula- tion of, 58 ; marshes of, compared with those of Virginia, 10!); red- birds shipped to, 119; climate of Virginia compared with that of, 130; first settlers in Virginia anx- ious to return to, 198 ; commodities shipped to, in 1()16, 218; specimens of Virginia flax forwarded to, in 1622, 239; how tobacco shipped to, in 1622, 253; tobacco sold in mar- kets of, 254; all tobacco of Vir- ginia in 1621 required to be brought to, 266; rights of London and Somers Isles' Companies to import tobacco into, 277; no Spanish to- bacco to be imported into, 281 ; cul- tivation of tobacco in, in 1627, 289; all shipmasters from Virginia with loads of tobacco to proceed first to, 291; bills of exchange on, 302; why members of different classes in, should emigrate to Virginia, 342-344 ; reasons for the restrictive policy towards Virginia by, 347 ; war between, and Holland, in 1653, 351; cultivation of tobacco in, 363 ; prices of grain in, compared with those in Virginia, 380-382; war between Holland and, 385; English lessees of Virginian lands, 412, 413; condition of agriculture in, 425; people of, obtained false impression of Vir- ginia from sailors, 444 ; tobacco smuggled into, 454 ; productiveness of land sown in wheat in Virginia as compared with the same in, 464; certain fruits of, compared with those of Virginia, 468; prices of horses in, as compared with those of Virginia, 476 ; cart wheels imported from, 476; importation of cattle from, 478; grass seed imported from, 479; care of cattle in, 479;

neglect of sheep in, 484; wool cheaper in Virginia than in, 485; value of pigs in, about 1700, 48(); English authorities disapprove of Howard's allowing colonists to pay quit-rents in tobacco, 562 ; iuHuences at work in, to encourage emigration of servants, 575 ; wages in, in seven- teenth century, 578-580 ; exportation from, of political prisoners, 608- 612; work of spirits in, 613-616; and the efforts to put an end to it, 61()-619; agents in, for securing laborers for the Colonies, 620; the time when vessels set out from, for Colonies, 622; ii. 85, 105, 185, 270, 300, 365; extent of woods in, 145; relative value of cloths in Virginia and, 189; tobacco and sassafras sold in, 281 ; hostilities between Holland and, 315 ; Virginian factors appointed by powers of attorney, drawn in, 364 ; with Holland, expends one million dollars in ship timber, 426; sand obtained from, for glass manu- facture, 443 ; iron from Virginia to be exempted from customs in, 450; iron ore from Virginia sent to, 451 ; unable to compete with Holland in freight rates, 466 ; bills of exchange drawn on, 516, 517, 518.

Engraver, ii. 419.

Engrossing, ii. 353-364.

Epes or Eppes, i. John, 600; Francis, 4()2; ii. 251, 384,558.

Epidemics, causes of sickness in open- ing up forests, ii. 231. See Health.

Eriff, i. 109.

Escheators, i. 565, 56G.

Essex, England, i. 86, lU; ii. 246.

Evance, ii. 317.

Evelyn, Robert, i. 115, 116, 335, 3.39, 535; refers to wild turkeys, 116; also to prevalence of ague in Vir- ginia, 134; ii. 245.

Factors, compelled to be natives or naturalized subjects of England, ii. 364; their commissions, 364; how appointed, 365 : many prove untrust- worthy, 366 ; sea-captains employed as, 370.

600

Fairs, effort to introduce, into Vir- ginia, ii. 389.

Faldoe, i. 17, 19.

Falling Creek, mill on, ii. 425, 489; the mine on, 446; furnace erected on, 448; furnace on, destroyed by Indians, 449.

Falls of the Powhatan, i. 18, 93, 105, 106, 128, 133, 156, 178, 198, 489.

Fans, ii. 193.

Farneshaugh, Deborah, ii. 11.

Farrar, ii. 122 ; silver belonging to the estate, 171 ; dwelling-house of Wil- liam, 154.

Farrar's Neck, i. 145, 208.

Farrell, John, ii. 463.

Fassett, ii. 345.

Faulcon, ship, i. 248.

Fauntleroy, Moore, i. 496; William, 1. 377; ii. 156,249.

Fayal wine, ii. 216-231.

Febran, Francis, ii. 334.

Fee-simi)le tenure, i. 227.

Felgate, Philip, i. 234; Robert, ii. 46.

Fellows, Margaret, ii. 83.

Felons. See Servants.

Felton, John, ii. 328.

Fences, laws relating to, i. 313-316; stealing rails prosecuted and worm fence described, 317, 318; ii. 102.

Fendall, Governor, ii. 240.

Fenders, ii. 165.

Ferrer, John, i. 365 ; letter from George Sandys, ii. 431 ; Sandys requests him to forward sand for glass manufact- ure, 443.

Ferrer, Miss, her expectations respect- ing Virginia silk-worms, i. 367

Ferries, 1. 421, 422.

Fevers, i. 133-136.

Figs, 1.42, 328; ii. 200.

Fish, i. 51, 339; their abundance in aboriginal Virginia, 111, 112; varie- ties of, 113 ; manner of cooking among Indians, 172; ii. on tables of planters, 200.

Fish, John, ii. 334.

Fisher, William, ii. 343.

Fishmongers' Company, ii. 267.

Fitzherbert, i. 385.

Fitzhugh MSS., preface, ix.

Fitzhugh, William, recommends terms in renting estates, i. 414; desires to lease large area of soil to Hugue- nots, 417 ; refers to the adaptibility of the soil of the Northern Neck to sweet-scented tobacco, 437 ; ships to England stemmed and unstemmed tobacco, 442 ; asserts that he could load a large vessel M'ith as much facility as a small one, 446; com- plains of losing large crops by ship- wreck or capture, 447 ; expresses intention to become part owner in a vessel, 449 ; authorizes Captain Jones to sell his tobacco at the mast, 453 ; sells tobacco at rate of £5 sterling a cask, 457 ; refers to low price of to- bacco, 458 ; agreement with Captain Jackson, 461 ; imports hoes, 463; his orchard of apple trees, 468 ; his trees grafted, 469 ; attempts cultivation of the olive, 470; imports grass seed, 479 ; proposes to buy a large body of land in Northern Neck, 537 ; superin- tends a survey for Nicholas Hey- ward, 539; ii. 83, 88, 162, 166, 367; hires a housekeeper, 49 ; his bargain with Captain Jackson, 80; wants to buy slaves from slave-ships, 83; prices offered for slaves, 91 ; builds his chimneys of brick, 143 ; character of his house, 149, 150 ; imports glass, 159; his locust fence, 162; buys sil- ver in England, 170 ; his pictures, 174 ; orders clothing in London, 192; writes to London for sugars, 201 ; opinion of Virginia cider, 214 ; writes for claret, 215; refers to amount of drinking necessary in making bar- gains, 216; his vehicles, 238; his ac- count of his estate, 243; advises Luke as to settling in Virginia, 246; extent of his holdings in land, 253; condemns casual dealings of mer- chants with the Colony, 332 ; com- plains of the scarcity of English vessels in Virginian waters, 336 ; his estimate of the costs of trading in Virginia, 337 ; articles imported by him from England, 340, 341 ; com- ments on uncertainty of Virginian trade, 347 ; as a trader, 377 ; his

INDEX

601

manner of trading, 378, 379 ; writes to Cooper, 1685, 379; imports me- chanics from England, 403; relies but little on slave mechanics, 405 ; his engraver, 419; ships specimens of iron ore to England, 454; writes to Thomas INIathew, congratulating him on his manufacture of linen, 45(j; remarks upon the scarcity of wool in Virginia in 1(J81, because it had been converted into clothing, 467 ; imports shoemakers and tools, 477 ; owns a mill which grinds wheat and maize, 490; exports plank, 491 ; refers to his lack of ready money, 515 ; refers to town building in 1680, 547 ; a representative man of the seventeenth centurj^ 576.

Flaher, Daniel, ii. 419.

Flax, i. 41, 100, 234, 239, 341, 342, 466 ; cultivated in the common gar- den, 206, 207; price of, 262; culture of, encouraged by Governor Berke- ley, 331 ; Berkeley on the prospects of flax culture in 1665, 397, 398; seed to be sent to Virginia in 1681, 404; ii. 46; linen manufacture, 454- 459.

Fleet, Henry, i. 500; Edward, ii. 114.

Fleming, John, i. 574.

Fleueman, William, i. 603.

Fletcher, George, obtains monopoly of brewing in wooden vessels, ii. 212 ; Roger, ii. 317.

Fleur de Hundred, i. 271; 11.71,72,548.

Florida, i. 66.

Flour, shipped to the West Indies, ii. 490; mills for grinding, 490. See Mills.

Flowers, i. 100; ii. 160, 161.

Floyd, Edward, ii. 160.

Flushing, warehouses at, i. 265; the Duty sets sail for, 266; ii. 292, 296, 300.

Fluvanna County, i. 82.

Flying Hart, ship, ii. 300, 301.

Flying Horse, ship, i. 253, 254.

Foison, John, owns a fork, ii. 169; contents of his store, 385.

Fontaine, i. 471.

Food, prices of, in 1643, ii. 205; prices in 1676, 206; prices in 1682, 207.

Foote, Thomas, his pictures, ii. 174.

Forestalling, ii. 353-364.

Forests, absence of undergrowth in Virginia, i. 85, 86.

Forrest, John, ii. 141.

Fort Field, i. 413.

Forts, i. 511, 563; charges for benefit of, ii. 349-351.

Forts, Algernon, i. 204 ; Caroline, i. 61 ; Henry and Charles, 204, 205, 511 ; Jamestown, 189, 193; ii. 144; James, i.511; Koyal, 511.

Fortune, ship, ii. 73, 74.

Foster, Captain, i. 610; Philip, ii. 237; William, 424.

Fowl, wild, their abundance in aborig- inal Virginia, i. 114-116.

Fowler, Thomas, ii. 459.

Fox, David, ii. 4<l0, 558.

Foxcroft, Isaac, ii. 334.

Foxe, ship, ii. 312.

Foxes, i. 125, 126.

France, i. 47, 49, 55, 93, 130, 219, 362, 400; importations from, into Eng- land, 42 ; asses to be imported into Virginia from, 248; wines of, in Virginia, ii. 230; coins of, in Vir- ginia, 513.

Francis, Joseph, ii. 334.

Francis and Mary, ship, ii. 318.

Franklin, John, ii. 141 ; Sir John, i. 5.

Freeman, Thomas, i. 510.

Freight charges, i. 354, 450-452 ; in time of Company, 256; ii. 348.

French crowns, ii. 509.

Frenchmen, imported into Virginia to cultivate vines, i. 246.

Frethorne, ii. 6, 7, 17.

Frobisher, Martin, i. 22.

Frobisher's Straits, i. 23, 24.

Frogs, i. 128.

Fruit, i. 51, 331, 339, 468 ; ii. 200.

Fuel, for the dwelling-house, ii. 185.

Funerals, ii. 38. See Burials.

Furniture of household, ii. 163-167.

Furs, i. 46, 48 ; ii. 265, 300.

Gage, Nicholas, ii. 469. Gainge, William, i. 521. Game, ii. 200. Garden seed, i. 239. Gardiner, Martin, ii. 125.

INDEX

Garrett, Mrs., i. 366.

<Jates, James, ii. 151; Sir Thomas, 136, 208, 420, 624; gives favorable account of Colony, i. 50; refers to indications of iron ore in Virginia, 81 ; recalls voyage with Somers, 136 ; imports cattle in 1611, 210; peti- tioned by colonists to establish sepa- rate tenures, 214, 215 ; bis agreement with tenants of Charles Hundred, 220; ii. 282, 401; imports brewers, 211 ; one of the patentees of 1606, 260; sets out for Virginia with a fleet, 269-274 ; his work in restoring Jamestown, 529.

Gaul, i. 71.

Geese, i. 115, 172, 182; ii. 205, 210.

General Court, MSS. of, preface, ix; i. 313, 333, 498, 565; ii. 11; inter- poses in favor of the heirs of George Lee, 365 ; order of, with reference to the fort at Point Comfort, 417; passes order for manufacture of salt, 485; protested bills of ex- change recorded in, at Jamestown, 520.

George, John, i. 429; ship, 1.232; ii. 281, 284.

Germany, i. 71, 93.

Gibbes, i. 21)7.

Gibbons, ii. 317.

Gibbs, William, i. 602.

Gibburd, William, furniture in his house, ii. 180.

Gibson, Peter, ii. 196.

Gifford, John, ii. 319.

Gift, ship, i. 513; ii. 285.

Gilbert, Adrian, i. 24; Sir Humphrey, i. 14, 46 ; charter granted to, 2 ; terms of his testamentary assign- ment of his letters patent, 3, 4 ; asso- ciated with Peckham, 0 ; interested in a search for metals in Newfound- land, 11, 12; his enterprise requires the support of many adventurers, 12; expects assistance from Queen Elizabeth, 12.

Ginger, i. 251.

Glascock, Robert, i. 334; amount of coin in his inventory, ii. 507.

Glass, i. 17, 41, 49, .50; ii. 1.59, .340; manufacture of, 440; contract with

Norton for making of, 441, 442; fur- nace destroyed, 443.

Glaziers, ii. 159.

Gloucester County, mulberry trees planted in, by Major Walker, i. 399; the Plant-cutters' Rebellion in, 40.5, 406 ; a panther killed in, about 1688, 484 ; opposes imposition of jail-birds, 605; brick court house, ii. 144; Ind- ians of, allowed trade privileges, 389; proposition to build capital at Tyndall's Point in, 546 ; town build- ing in, 549, 556.

Gloucestershire, i. 363, 364.

Glover, the writer, i. 101, 107, 112, 122, 431, 469; Dr. George, ii. 232; Richard, 309; William, 251, 470.

Gloves, ii. 192.

Goats, i. 202, 248, 299, 311 ; price of, in 1643, ii. 205.

Goddard, Vincent, ii. 91.

Goddin, John, builds a vessel, ii. 438; Thomas, 125.

Godsill, John, ii. 327.

Godwyn, ii. 64, 93, 95.

Gogliagan, Patrick, ii. 22.

Gold. See Metals.

Goldfinches, i. 120.

Gondomar, i. 39, 66, 201, 239; letter of, to Philip in., 60.

Gooch, William, ii. 380.

Goodrich, Henry, i. 448.

Goodridge, William, ii. 473.

Goodwyn, James, i. 482 ; ii. 249 ; John, 334.

Goody, Katharine, i. 628.

GookiD, Daniel, i. 24(5, 248, 249; aver- age age of his servants, 600; im- ports cattle from Ireland, ii. 290.

Gooseberry, i. 96.

Goring Contract, i. 288.

Goshen, i. 489.

Gosling, .John, i. 450.

Gosnold, Captain, i. 6.

Gouldman, Thomas, ii. 553.

Gourds, i. 98.

Gower, Richard, ii. 334.

Graft, i. 351.

Grafton, John, ii. 320.

Graham, James, ii. 328.

Graies, Thomas, i. 505.

Grants of Land, terms attached to, in

INDEX

603

time of Ycardley, i. 234. See Title to Land.

Grapes, i. 47, 470-472; abundance of, in aboriginal Virginia, 96, 97 ; efforts to manufacture wine from, 243, 244; ii. 200.

Graves, Kalpb, i. 402; John, ii. 404.

Gravesend, i. 014, 019.

Graveyards, ii. 238.

Grawere, John, ii. 95.

Gray, Samuel, ii. 108.

Green, John, ii. 17(i, 333.

Greenland, i. (iO.

Green Spring, cold spring at, i. 103 ; fruits i)lanted by Governor Berke- ley at, 331; residence of Governor Berkeley at, ii. 153; visited by Colonel Henry Norwood, 506.

Gresham, i. 24.

Grey, Captain, i. 295 ; ii. 73, 74.

Griffin, Corbin, i. 482 ; leaves money to his wife to furnish her chamber, ii. 167 ; owns forks, 169 ; his silverware, 173; his will, 192; his mourning rings, 195 ; personal estate of, 251 ; gift to the poor, 257; John, 439; David, .334.

Griffith. Thomas, ii. 3.34.

Griggs, Robert, emancipates his slaves, ii^"l24: liis gift to Christ Church Parish, 256: John, list of debts of, 207 ; cost of his funeral, 237.

Grimes, Edward, ii. 416.

Grocers' Company, ii. 266, 272.

Groom, Samuel, ii. 334.

Guinea, i. 1 ; ii. 74.

Gum trees, i. 196.

Gunston, Thomas, owns a mill, ii. 490.

Gutridge, Thomas, ii. 109.

Gutterick, Quintillian, i. 482 ; ii. 172, 439.

Gwyn, Hugh, ii. 23.

Haddon, Dr., ii. 232, 234. Hail, i. 1.32, 224. Hakluyt, Richard, i. 6, 47. Hall, Giles, ii. 326 ; Tobias, 459. Ham, Joseph, i. bequeaths goats to his

children, 299; Jerome, his store, ii.

381. Hammers, i. 233. Hammond, John, i. 130.

Hamor, Ralph, i. 124 ; his reference to wild pigeons, 121 ; mentions para- keets, 122 ; his visit to King Pow- hatan, 180 ; refers to Dale's explora- tions, 208; attributes the tenant system to Dale, 213, 214; he de- scribes quality of Virginian tobacco, 218 ; his reference to ploughs in 1614, 219; remarks on character of Vir- ginian wheat, 238 ; ii. 528, 531 ; home attacked by Indians, 137; his ac- count of Jamestown, 529.

Hampton, i. 193 ; ii. 316, 560 ; a store at, 381 ; Parish, ii. 257 ; River, 417.

Hampton Roads, i. 27, 89, 104, 108.

Hancock, Simon, i. 372.

Handy's Landing, ii. 185.

Hanover County, i. 98.

Hansford, Charles, i. 429; ii. 217: pur- chases a lot at Yorktowu, 557 ; John, 323.

Happy, ship, ii. 326.

Harding, Henry, i. 616.

Hare, i. 127.

Harford, ii. 438.

Hariot, i. 154, 162, 178 ; encourages the sending out of an expedition to head of Moratoc River, 26: account of natural products of Virginia, 48.

Harmar, Charles, ii. 75.

Harper, Edward, ii. 334.

Harris, James, ii. 334; Christopher, 213: Thomas, 75: John, 126, 384; William, ii. 232, 311, 444.

Harrison, ii. 564; Benjamin, 330; Dan- iel, 477; George, i. 253: ii. 296, 335; Robert, ii. 558 ; William, ii. 473.

Hart, John, ii. 318; Nicholas, 318; Thomas, 317.

Harvey, Sir John, i. 330,408; his ex- pedition west of the Falls in 1(530, 82 ; instructed to require all ship- masters leaving Virginia to trans- fer their cargoes to England, 291 ; charged with permitting Dutch ves- sels to load with tobacco, 292 : his reference to enforcement of the In- spection Law, .307 ; begins his admin- istration, 308; dispatches a vessel to Cape Fear, 309 ; commissions Na- thaniel Basse, 310 : the palisade built during first part of the administra-

604

INDEX

tion of, 312; recommends the erec- tion of a custom house in Virginia, 32U ; sows rape seed, 328 ; ii. 46, 444, 494 ; comments on the great expen- ditures for wines, 21ti ; condition of the Virginian people in 1(539, at close of administration of, 244; recom- mends the erection of a custom house, 302 ; controversy with Math- ews, 303; declares that mechanics refuse to follow their calling because paid in tobacco, 413 ; beginning made in ship-building in time of, 431 ; makes a journey to the iron works at Falling Creek, 451 ; writes Winde- bank that there was no coin in Vir- ginia, 500.

Harvey, Valentine, ii. 408.

Harwood, Thomas, i. 429.

Hatcher, Edward, ii. 558.

Hats, ii. 191.

Hatteras, i. 47 : perilous character of the Shoals of, 109.

Hatters, residing in Colony, ii. 473.

Hawes, Nicholas, i. 84, 125.

Hawk, i. 117, 183.

Hawkins, Sir John, i. 1, 45; ii. 63; William, i. 541 ; Thomas, ii. 36.

Hawley, Henry, i. 421 ; Jerome, i. 327, 5.57.

Hawthorne, Jarratt, 1. 412; Gerrard, ii. 404.

Hay, i. 100.

Haydon, John, i. 603.

Hayes, James, i. 385.

Haynes, Thomas, i. 463.

Hayward, Nicholas, i. 539, 570; Fitz- hugli's advice to, about building a house in Virginia, i. 149; Samuel, 470.

Haj-wood, Anthony, ii. 320.

Head, John, ii. 558.

Head rights, i. 512-518; violation of law relating to, by shipmasters and sailors, 519, 520; ii. African, 85. See Title to Land.

Heale, George, ii. 552 ; Phoebe, 408.

Healing, Robert, ii. 47.

Health, effect of climate of Virginia on health of first settlers, i. 132, 1.33 ; crowded condition of ships produce epidemics in Colony, 136, 137 ; Gov-

ernor Wyatt refers to longevity of the Virginians, 138; health of Ind- ians, 145, 186-188. See Epidemics.

Heeman, Thomas, ii. 334.

Hemp, i. 393, 466; cultivated in com- mon garden, 206, 207 ; jirice of, in England, 262; culture of, encour- aged by Governor Berkeley, 331 : seed of, to be sent to Virginia in 1681,404 ; linen manufacture, ii. 454- 459.

Henrico Borough, i. 228; County, 414, 416, 440; records of, preface, ix; population of, in 1634, 319; sheep owners in, 377; wages paid ferry- men in, 422, 423; a lease of land in, 460; value of cattle in, about 1690, 480, 481 ; prices of horses in 1688, 475 ; owners of sheep in, about 1690, 482; prizes given in, for destruction of wolves, 483 ; ii. 425 ; houses in, 152 ; silver owned by citizens of, 171 : personal estates in, 251; prices of liquor in, in 1688, 227, 229; value of land in, 253; Indian marts in, 388; manufacture of linen in, 459; owners of looms residing in, 470; shoe- makers living in, 478; owners of mills in, 490; coin in inventories taken in, 514 ; town building in, 548, 556 ; feoffees of Bermuda Hun- dred, 558.

Henricopolis, i. 192, 216, 217; estab- lished by Dale, 208-211; vineyard established by Dale at, 219 ; kilns at, ii. 135 ; named after Prince Henry, 528 ; falls into ruin, 530.

Henry, Fort, i. 204.

Henry IV. of France, ii. 8.

Henry, Prince, ii. 528.

Henry, William Wirt, preface, xi ; i. 30, 227.

Hercules, ship, ii. 272.

Herdsmen, i. 478.

Herefordshire, ii. 214.

Herons, i. 118, 184.

Heslett. See Hislett.

Hewitt, John, ii. 422.

Heyward, John, ii. 477, 489.

Hickory, i. 167. See Walnut.

Hide. See Hyde.

Hides, exportation of, prohibited, ii.

605

480; scope of the Acts relating to, extended in 1665, 481 ; penalties for exporting, 481 ; laws relating to the exptirtation of, repealed in l(i71, 481 ; reenacted in 1(582, 482 ; duties upon, 483.

Higgins, Catherine, ii. 36.

Highways, i. 418-420.

Hill, Edward, i. 82 ; ii. 315, 334, 557 ; Thomas, i. 551, 602.

Hillard, John, ii. 323; Thomas, 320.

Hilton, Hipwell, ii. 506.

Hinde, John, ii. 334.

Hinson, John, ii. 347.

Hislett, William, ii. 142, .550.

Hobb's Hole, selected as the site for a town, ii. 540.

Hobbs, Richard, ii. 169.

Hobson, John, i. 505; Peter, ii. Ill, 559.

Hodge or Hodges, Robert, i. 374 ; num- ber of sheep owned by, 377 ; perstmal estate of, ii. 47, 250; his mourning j-ings, 195; his store, 381, 385.

Hodgson, William, ii. 36, 37. ^

Hoes, i. 200, 201, 233, 463.

Hog Island, i. 313, 600 ; included in the corporate bounds of Jamestown, ii. 530.

Hogs, i. 469, 485 ; imported in First Supply, 201: Dale establishes a range for, at Henricopolis, 209 ; owned by private persons, 216; persons kill- ing a wolf allowed to kill wild, 296; their increase in 1639, 3l5 ; too abun- dant about 1(!70 to be enumerated in estates, 378; punishment for steal- ing, in 1()62, 379 ; tbeir value in 1655, 380; not subject to taxation, ii. 104; stealing, by negroes, 120.

Ho^bee, Daniel, i. 363.

Hogsheads, i. 442-444; legal size of, 383; ii. 296.

Hulcroft, Captain Thomas, ii. 270.

Holland, i. 34(), 385, 428; vessels sent to, by English, 57 ; trade with Vir- ginia, 58 ; Virginian tobacco sold in, in 1621, 249 ; tobacco sold in markets of, 254 ; greatest storehouse of grain in the world, 258 ; London Company decide to export their tobacco to, 265 ; Privy Council protests against

export of tobacco to, 266 ; right of planters to sell tobacco in, under tobacco contract, 286; exportation of tobacco to, continues, 2!i0; ships from Virginia arrive in, l(i51 and

1652, 351; war with England in

1653, 351 ; permission sought by merchants in, to sail to Virginia, 1653, 352 ; transshipment of tobacco to, in disregard of Navigation Act, 357, 358 ; silk arrives in, from Vir- ginia, 369; war between England and, 385; agricultural methods in- troduced from, 425; exchange with, prohibited, ii. 293 ; supplies from, 299; ships arrive in, from Virginia in 1624, 300; Arthur Swain in, 301; English merchants in, 302; trade with Virginia, 300-315; hostilities with England, 315; produces more of certain kinds of merchandise than the English, 376; expends $1,000,000 in ship timber, in com- pany with England, 426 ; New Eng- land not able to exchange its own products for those of, 435 ; England unable to compete with, in freight rates, 466 ; Colonel Norwood sets out for, 506; smuggling trade with, on Eastern Shore, 513. See Dutch.

Holland, John, ii. 319; William, 324.

Hollier, Samuel, i. 481.

Hollingsworth, Richard, ii. 320.

Hollis, John, ii. 323.

Hollowell, Joseph, ii. 418.

Holmes, William, ii. .322.

Holt, Richard, his personal estate, ii. 248.

Hominy, i. 167, 173.

Hone, Theophilus, ii. 141

Honey, i. 262; ii. 201.

Honeysuckle, i. 101.

Honour, ship, ii. 339.

Hooks for reaping, i. 2.37.

Hooper, Robert, ii. 334.

Hope, ship, ii. 314.

Hopewell, ship, ii. 295, 318.

Hops, i. .3.37.

Hopton, Lord, i. 567.

Horses, i. .39 ; the character of those in Colony in the early years after the settl-ement, 247 ; uum-ber in 1627,

606

INDEX

208 ; number in Colony in 1647, 335 ; number about 1605, 374-376 ; prices of, about 1065, 374 ; used in tbresb- ing wbeat, 465 ; reasons for decline in size, 473 ; number of wild, run- ning at large, 474 ; value of, in last decade of tbe century, 475 ; not sub- ject to taxation, ii. 104.

Horsey, Howard, i. 559.

Hougb, Mr., 1. 332.

Housden, Roger, 11. 439.

Houton, ii. 293.

Howard, Lord, 1. 408, 409, 569; retires from Virginia in sickly season, 139 ; the Burgesses appeal to, about va- cated Indian lands, In 1685, 499; plats of surveys not recorded previ- ous to his arrival, 548 ; declares that Court of Chancery prescribed the fee for surveyed plats, 550 ; ordered to receive quit-rents only in coin, 501 ; his course, in connection with quit- rents, causes di,scontent among the English authorities, 502 ; directed to introduce a bill legalizing the intro- duction of political felons, 611, 612; ii. 43, 84, 352 ; reply of Burgesses to, respecting quit-rents, 508 ; instructed not to alter the value of coin in Vir- ginia, 510.

Howell, Thomas, ii. 90.

Hubbard, John, ii. 469; Mathew, i. 372, 375, 629; number of his sheep, 377 ; his residence, ii. 154 ; personal estate, 248 ; Richard, his store and its contents, 382 ; woollen-wheels and reels belonging to, 469 ; leaves hides at his death, 477.

Huddleston, William, ii. 9.

Hudlesy, John, ii. 152, 425.

Hudson, Henry, i. 25 ; Leonard, ii. 402; Richard. 515.

Hudson's Bay, i. 23.

Huff's Point, selected as the site for a town, ii. .548.

Huguenots, i. 45, 61, 417, 471.

Hull, i. .384, 020.

Hume, David, i. .55.

Humming-bird, i. 120.

Hundreds, Dale divides the country about Farrar's Island into, i. 210; pro- visions for, out of magazine, ii. 287.

Hungerford, John, ii. 519.

Hunt estate, silver belonging to the,

ii. 172. Hunt, Joseph, ii. 334 ; Thomas, i. 420;

Rev. Robert, loses his library in fire

at Jamestown, ii. 526 ; his efforts to

restore the town, 528. Hunter, Joseph, ii. 334. Husband, Richard, i. 350, 351. Hussey, Gates, ii. 327. Hutchinson, i. 451. Hyde, Mrs., ii. 112 ; Robert, orchard of,

i. 408. Hyssop, i. 251.

Illinois, i. 585.

Inspection laws, i. 304-308.

Indentures. See Servants.

Indians, reports among them as to the lost colonists of Roanoke Island, i. 5, 6; reports among, of a mine on TfeMoratoc River, 11, 14 : slay mep- bers of Dflnwnre-s Evporlition. 1!); Percy sent to prorni-i' '-■rnin fr(^[p ,

^; Ch

;ati(Ui of, by Loudo

Comnan^Y. 08; their villages and dwellings, 145, 148; their fondness for mulberry, bay, and locust trees, wild roses, sunflowers, grapevines about their homes, 146; their wig- wams, how constructed, 146, 147 ; their beds and mats, 147 ; their folds for drvino- mai^P nnr^ figh

.scaffo

148; their palisades, royal dwellings, temples, 148 ; principal temple at Uttamassack, on Pamiinkey, its size, side-buildings, and effigies, 148 ; Powhatan's treasure-house, 149; each tribe had absolute title to its immediate territory subject to an- nual tribute to its king, 149; how Land cleared by. i^'r>, lyl ■ W^ ground pl'opared and cnUivn.ted. l.Tl: different seeds sowedliv. Jn the same fielil between one nnntber. at (litterent date_s. l."2: their fond- ness i'or roasting eai-s. l."2 : nii Indian field of maize on the PowITritan the counterpart of a \ irgini.a plaijter'i!. IST:, m: tlieir maize fields being concentrated on navigable streams led English to exaggerate the area

INDEX

607

under cultivation. 156 ; Queen of Ap- pomattox's ana upeehancaiiough's large fields, 15(3, 157; survivors of massacre of 1622 glad that thev could take ijossession of cleared

laT7 sTTT

^m

lisli sav(

seuioml in lii( i' his IQiK.) basket

.Martin at Naji- Indians carrv off

ot uram. I.'jS; sup- plies of urain olitaincd from, at kecduuhtan an.l other iilacesTTol; nuuentatinn wlini culniiists^eized their grain, in Kin".!, I5,s, 15'.); how tobacco cultivated by; no full ac- count of aboriginal method, 162, 163 ; houses ijalisaded against, 162; they smoked large, heavy, and carved pipes, 163; natives in full eni^jv- ment of tobacco when first advent- urers arrived. HJi: aborigines con- tinued to raise maize, but mostly ceased to grow tobacco, 165 ; na- tives used as food many natural products, such as seed of sunflower, mattoom, and tuckahoe, 166 ; had no knowledge of spirits ; preferred water that had been standhig long in ponds, 167 ; weirs, how made ; fish traps at Falls lti9 ; bows and arrows, how manufactured ; their skill in iising them ; tlie force "f tboir .irr^ws exhibited at T;iniest(iivii..I7Q: sword and tomahawk, 171 ; hemmnig game with a circle of fire ; also running them into angles of land with wide streams on only one side and hunt- ers in ambush with boats, 171 ; how they prepared various articles for eating, 172; in spring men went off on distant hunts, women accompany- ing them ; sometimes built lodges and returned to same places ; slaugh- tered even pregnant animals; very fond of bear meat and held it at a high price, 172 ; how fowls, fish, and animals cooked by, 172, 173; how maize prepared for consumption, 173; bread and meat not eaten to- gether, 173, 174 ; natives had to labor only one-fourth of year; not idle or improvident : i^olonists made their pleasures more scarce. 17il: '

general system of life, 175, 176; allowed by employers double ra-

"tions, 176: no jauiines, but supiiTics

^'j; W^^t diviiled by, into live sca- sons, according to its varying char- acter, 177 ; feasts adapted to each season, and sometimes pi-olongpd fur

. several days, 177, 178: urrat i.lt-nty before English intrudi*! : lios|iit*ili- tics to English at vanmis places, \rilh laTish provisions, \'^. ITji: abun- clance at \\ crowciconiocoanil Paniun- key, when visited by Smith and New- port, ,170 iSQ^- Hamor entertained by Powhatan, j8()^ native clothing and .ornamentation, 181; the king had 11,0 characteristic dress ; that of a priest conspicuous, 182; conjurers sCfintily clothed, 183; hair dressing; ears pierced and curiously orna-

. mented, 183; pearls, oil, and paint; war paint, 184; tattooing, 185; splendid physique; no deformity; gigantic Susquehannocks ; some Ind- ians small, but all erect and agile; features, 185; two exceptions, how accounted for; all eyes black and expressive, 186 ; women graceful and symmetrical, with good voices ; longevity, 186; medicines and med- ical , treatment ; physicians, J8j]j sweating house for dropsy and kin- dred affections; did not answer for small-pox, 188; supplies furnisjied

• 1^, 190 : teaching the English how to plant maize, 198; the tribes depre- date upon caftle of the colonists.2()6; Dale seizes lands of the Appomattox, 209; character of tobacco planted by,_211; cease to furnish tribute of grain, 225 ; university projected for education of . j2g : massacre of 1()22 destroys silk culture, ^2^ colonists present their arms to, in 1622, 270; massacre of 1622, JJiO, 274:-*B!cIusion of, from valley of Tlames River, 296; maize obtained from, in 1630, ''3^); palisade from Yorlv to Martin s'liundred excludes tlu\ 312; the cow expected to civil- ize, ^70, 371; disposed to kill the

608

swine of the colonists about 1660, 379; required to have a tribal mark for their hogs. oSQ; their right iu ' soil of aboriginal Virginia not rec- ognized by the English, 4gJ; views as to their rights held oy cettain pamphleteers, A8^: London Com- pany refuses to admit their right to make grants of land. 489. 4:'.)L: different jfolicy adopted after revo- cation of 0>ompany's patent, 491 ; agree to abandon the Peninsula to the Efiglish, 492; Assembly adopts regulations to protect Pamunkey, Chickahonnny,and Northampton In- dians, 492, 493: English settlers en- croach upon grounds of, 493 ; laws passed to prevent this, 494: an at- tempt to reduce Indian holdings within definite limits, 494, 495; In- dians of Accomac in 1660, complain of their straitened condition, 495,: scrupulous care of the Assembly in enforcing Indian grants, ^96; ap- prehension of Indian outrages one ground for the just action of the Assembly, J^T ; all Indian lands con- fiscated in 1676, 498; Indian popu- lation gradually diminishes, ■jL^j tribes petition the Assembly that all lands not used by them shall be granted to white settlers, 499 ; time ' for seating lengthened in case of appreliension of an Indian attack, ^54: slaves flying to Indian towns, ii. 115; supplies obtained from. 26Q: gifts made to. 263 : private trade with, 265, 268 fP^^'rcliase of furs

• from, ^; I'rUde with, 385^ '^^: beads usecl in trade with, 440, 441 ; schemes for the conversion?ff,*by London Company, 446, 447? *

Indigo, i. 337: effort madS to culti- vate, 246.

Tngfam, Richard, i. 602.

Inns, ii. 535; keepers of, ii. 224, 225, "226, 558. •^•

Iowa, i. 585. * "

Ireland, i. 249, ^6T trade with Vir- ginia, ii. 329. *

Irish servants, i. 609.

Iron, i. 42, 45, 48, 52, 81, 2(8, 339; tips

f'or ploughs, 201 ; ii. 146 ; manu- facture of, In England, 444; prices of, 444 ; iron ore transported to England by Captain Newport, 445 ; earliest attempt to manufacture, in Virginia, 445 ; Southampton Hun- flred agrees to set* up iron works, 446, 447; John Berkeley eiuigrartes to Virginia witli ironmakers, 447 ; *George Sandys' opinion of Falling Creek as a site for manufacture of,

' 448 f* Sir Edwin Sandys calculates the cost of iron works, 448; iron works at Falling Creek destroyed by Indians, 449 ; action of the Com- pany about manufacture of, after the massacre, 449 ; William Capps authorized to manufacture in Vir- ginia, 450; proposiirion in 1623 to 'erect a bloomery, 450; Governor Harvey visits 1;he site of the old iron works on Falling Creek, 451; Sir John Zouch and his son under- take to establish iron works and fail, 451 ; possibilities of iron manufact- ure iu the Colony described by the author of the Wew Description of Virgi/ua, 452; Berkeley instructed to report on feasibility of iron works in Virginia, 453 ; planters export ores to England, 454.

Isfe of Wight, Englan«, i. 292, 622.

Isle of tVtght County, i. 103: its poor, ii. 2.57; Indian marts in, 388; town building in, 548.

Italian workmen, employed in glass manufacture, ii. 443.

Italy, i. 42^4, 47-49, 55, 93, 241.

Jackson, Captain, ii. 80, 91; James, 479 : Nicholas, 334 ; Thomas, i. 412.

Jamaica, i. 605 ; ii. 77, 328.

James City, inspection of tobacco, to be made at, i. 305. See Jamestown.

James City County, population of, in 1634, i. 319; runaway slaves in, ii. 116; tobacco of, to be transported to Jamestown, 542; town building in, 548, .")5(); jurors from, to site of Williamsburg, 563.

James City Island, i. 313.

James, Edward W., i. 234.

INDEX

609

James the First, i. 51, 62, 127 ; his in- terest in silk culture, 240; claims the right to lay charges on Virginian tobacco, 263; his object, 264; the dispute between him and Colony concerning tobacco, settled, 269; first tobacco contract with, falls through, 270; appoints commission- ers for government of Virginia, 277 ; assumes absolute authority over aboriginal Virginia, 487; requires the Company to receive dissolute characters, 599.

James the Second, i. 608; petitioned to prohibit shipment of tobacco in bulk, 454.

James River, i. 82, 103-105, 107, 117, 124, 300, 320, 361, 447, 492, 621 ; sassafras in the valley of, 93; marshes of, 109; number of ships sailing from, to England, in 1635, 311 ; Dutch men-of-war in, in 1667, 385 ; amount of tobacco pro- duced in valley of, in 1689, 456 ; ii. 82, 522; Devries sails up, 303; pirates seized in, 347 ; pilots in, 352. See Powliatan River.

Jamestown, preface, viii; i. 15-17, 24, 56, 84, 98, 115, 165, 199, 492, 578, 586, 592, 606; effect of the dis- covery of gold on the advancement of the Colony at, 25; Newport re- turns from Falls to, 29; Francis Maguel at, 32; search for gold in neighborhood of, 34; Newport sub- ordinates the real interests of, to the discovery of gold, 36 ; Smith de- livers corn to the Cape Merchant at, 38 ; General Assembly declares the South Sea to be only six days' jour- ney from, 39; Berkeley's expedition to South Sea from, 40; evidences of iron ore at, 81 ; number of ash trees in vicinity of, 91 ; country in vicinity of, 100 ; sturgeon killed in river at, 112; animals observed near, 124; hares, 127; rattlesnakes, 129; colo- nists at, eat reptiles in Starving Time, 129; deaths at, in 1607, 133; Lord Delaware reaches, 1.34 ; sickly in dog days, 139 ; number of Indians in sixty miles of, 140; the English 2 R

at, saved from starvation by In- dians, 157; Smith returns to, with seven hogsheads of maize, 158; first settlers at, adopt their manner of planting tobacco from the Indians, 162; Indian trial of skill with bow and arrow at, 170 ; Newport's return to, 179; Hamor returns from We- rowocomoco to, 180, 181; first ground broken by an English agri- cultural implement in America was at, 189; Clayton's visit to, 189; cir- cumstances leading to formation of, liJ5-193 ; erection of a fort at, 193 ; colonists live in great abundance at, in the second winter of the settle- ment, 194; production of clapboards near, 197 ; Francis Perkins arrives at, 198 ; Delaware reaches, 202 ; Ar- goll returns to, with a cargo of cod, 203; distance from, to Paspaheigh, 207 ; Dale leaves, to establish Hen- ricopolis, 208, 209; commotion at, upon arrival of Gates, 210 : Dale ar- rives at, 213 ; number of inhabitants at, at time of Dale's departure, 217 : Dale's letter to Salisbury from, 220 ; one hundred acres allowed Nuce at, 229 ; tenants employed by treasurer near, 232 ; cattle brought to, after the massacre, 1622, 271 ; supplies sent to, 274; Devries leaves, with six goats and one ram, 299: goods imported under inspection law landed only at, 306 ; country around, principal cattle reserve, 313; Mrs. Pierce's garden at, 328; quarter court convening at, 1639 ; plan of a Cessation discussed in Asseml)ly at, in 1662, 391 : construction of roads to, 419; ferry charges at, 423; sur- veyors report to Surveyor-General at, 534 ; surveyors form a society at, 536; quit-rents to be paid into treas- ury at, 567 ; all sales of land to be recorded at, 570; foundation of Colony at, tended to increase growth of shipping, 584 ; no goods to be sold until ship arrived at, 631; ii. 109, 431, 495, 497; building at, in 1638, l."S, 139: brick houses at, in 1662, 140; brick fort at, 144; Governor

610

INDEX

Butler's visit to, 148 ; Secretary of Colony's quarters at, 158 ; dress of early settlers at, ISG ; cost of lodg- ing at, 204 ; the law against break- ing bulk until Jamestown was reached passed to prevent excessive drinking, 216; innkeepers allowed to retail wines at, 221 : licenses of inns at, revoked, 225 ; First Supply reaches, 263 ; sailors remain at, 264 ; Delaware reestablishes colony at, 271 ; Gates sets out for, 272 ; com- mission sent to, from New Amster- dam, 314; Devries meets Captain Stone on his way from, 324; beacons between Jamestown and Willoughby Shoals, 352; breaking bulk before reaching, 353, 354 ; laws against en- grossing and forestalling as affect- ing interests of, 353-364 ; merchants living at, 377, 379, 380; effort to hold markets at, 389-391; inn rec- ommended to be erected at, 402 ; Meuelie visits England to obtain mechanics to erect state house at, 403; Tree obtains a patent to land at, 422 ; fish caught at Cape Charles for people of, 427 ; shipwrights es- tablish themselves at, 429; Devries fails to find facilities at, for repair- ing his ship, 431 ; ship America to return to, 434 ; glass house at, 440- 443; houses at, in which children were to be trained in cloth manu- facture, 455; General Court at, pass order for manufacture of salt, 485 ; mills in vicinity of, 487 ; erection of saw-mills at, 491 ; Colonel Henry Norwood leaves, for Holland, 506; protested bills recorded in books of General Court at, 250; charge for transportation from the planter's wharf the same as the charge from Jamestown, 525; the only town of any importance in Virginia previous to 1700, 525 ; first dwellings at, 526 ; burnt down in 1607, 526; contained sixty houses at Smith's departure, 527; when Delaware arrived, the town in extreme decay, 527 ; steps taken by Delaware to rebuild James- town, 528 ; in a state of decay when

Argoll arrived in 1617, 530 ; bounds of the corporation at this time, 530; owners of residences in, during Wyatt's administration, 531 ; no ship to break bulk before reaching, 532; ships not to proceed to, unlil storehouses had been erected, 533; the enactment, in 1636, that a lot should be granted to every person settling at, 534; Secretary Kemp builds a brick residence at, 534 ; state house erected at, 534 ; no inn at, in 1632, 535; Berkeley instructed to lay off site of, in 1642, 535 ; mar- ket days at, established, 536; in 1662, Berkeley ordered to begin town building at, 538 ; law requiring that every ship arriving in James River should sail to, and there obtain a license to trade, reenacted in 1662, 539: terms of the Act of 1662 re- quired that Jamestown slionld con- sist of thirty-two houses, 540 ; each county ordered to build a house at, 541, 542 ; tobacco crops of James City, Charles City, and Surry to be transported to, for exportation, 542 ; all tobacco ready for shipment above Mulberry Island, under Act of 16()2, to be first conveyed to, 543; com- plaint of the people of Surry County in 1676 as to house building at, 545 ; burnt by soldiers of Bacon, 546 ; Culpeper instructed to rebuild, 546 ; state house erected at, 547 ; no special reference to, in Cohabitation Act of 1680, 547 ; derives no benefit from Cohabitation Act, 553 ; size of, after restoration, 561; its present condition, 562.

Jamestown, Fort, i.91 ; Island, i. 28, 30, 74, 92, 133, 196, 432; ii. 353; weed, i. 99.

Janssen, ii. 293.

Jay-bird, i. 119.

Jayne, John, ii. 334.

Jeannette Expedition, i. 22.

Jefferson, Samuel, agreement with Fitzhugh, ii. 379; Tliomas, 558; purchases a lot at Yorktown, .557: Thomas, the statesman, i. KiO, 491 ; ii. 235, 281.

INDEX

611

Jeffreys, John, ii. 334.

Jenkins, Daniel, ii. 3.^; David, i. 429; Edward, ii. 4;); Henry, 146.

Jennings, Edmund, purchases a lot at Yorktown, ii. 557; William, ii. 334.

Jersey, ii. 328.

Jervise Plantation, selected as the site for a town, ii. 548.

Jessop, Edward, 127.

Jewelry, ii. 195.

Johnson, Abram, ii. 311.

Johnson, Alderman, i. 225; diverts magazine funds, ii. 280; Anthony, 126; John, i. .351; ii. 126; Philip, i. 457; Richard, 318 ; William, ii. 108.

Jones, Hugh, i. 410; notes peculiar character of lands between York and James rivers, 436 ; refers to cultiva- tion of cereals, 459; estimates pro- ductiveness of land sown in wheat in Virginia, 464 ; refers to the adapta- bility of Virginian soil to vegetables, 468; describes Virginian claret, 471 ; ii. 62 ; his opinion of Virginian cider, 214 ; also of the Virginian merchant, 378; Francis, i. 575; David, ii.75; Edward, 469 ; George, 54, 249 ; Henry, 469; Richard,339; Robert, 126; Mrs. Rowland, i. 482; ii. 174, 249; Wil- liam, 4.38.

Jordan, Samuel, i. 271.

Julian, William, ii. 149.

Julips, mint, ii. 217.

Juniper, i. 102.

Juxon Plantation, ii. 143.

Kanawha-river, i. 34.

Kansas, i. 585.

Katherine, ship, ii. 83, 316.

Kecoughtan, i. 91, 109, 115, 128, 174, 229, 521; flax at, 100; aboriginal settlement at, 145; trees at, 146; Indians living at, admirable hus- bandmen, 156; attack upon, by Smith, 158; first voyagers enter- tained at, by Indians, 178; advan- tages offered by, for first settlement, 191; Dale leaves, on his way to Jamestown, 208: one of the settle- ments at Dale's departure, 216, 217; one of the settlements retained after massacre of 1622, 271; cattle sent

from, to Kent Island, 208 ; Byrd ships tobacco to, 447 ; ii. 353 ; the Yeardley house at, 141 ; price of milk at, 206 ; its trade with Maryland, 323; a mill erected at, 487.

Keele, John, ii. 326.

Keeling, Adam, his residence, ii. 1.57; personal estate, 250.

Keene, John, leaves a large property, ii. 421 ; his contract with Mrs. Phoebe Heale, 408.

Kelly, Charles, owns looms, ii. 470.

Kemp, Mathew, i. 545; owns a mill, ii. 490 ; feoffee of the town in Mid- dlesex County, 558; Richard, con- demns the Goring contract, i. 289; recommends the establishment of a customhouse, 326; named Register, 327 ; describes servants as mer- chandise, 621 ; ii. 75, 138, 144 ; laud Ijatents sued out by, 252; his brick residence at Jamestown, 5.34.

Kemps, i. 198.

Kendall, William, his silverware, ii. 172.

Kennon, Richard, ii. 82, 100; owns a mill, 490.

Kent, England, i. 1.34, 312, 428; ii. 246.

Kent Island, i. 298.

Keyser, Timothy, ii. 334.

Kick, John, ii. 334.

Kidd, Captain, ii. .346.

Kidnappers, Indian, ii. 55. See Spirit- ing away.

King, Joseph, ii. 558.

King Creek, ii. 549.

Kingfisher, i. 120.

Kingsmill, Richard, i. 322; ii. 72.

Kingston, John, ii. 140; Thomas, 366.

Kinsman, Richard, i. 332 ; ii. 214. See Kingsmill.

Kinsy, Robert, ii. 322.

Kiskiack. See Cheskiack.

Kitchener, Richard, ii. 404.

Knibbe, William, ii. 514.

Knight, i. 24; ii. .382.

Knights of the Golden Horseshoe, i. 40.

Knives, i. 3.39; ii. 176.

Knott, James, ii. 151 ; Joseph, 140, 334 ; William, 514, 559.

Konigsburg, i. 57

612

INDEX

Ladd, John, ii. 423.

Lady Frances, ship, ii. 83.

Lambert, i. 253; ii. 11, 311.

Lament, James, ii. 91.

Lancaster County, preface, ix; i. 413, 416 ; prices of horses in, 375 ; number of sheep in, 377 ; prizes for wolves' heads in, in 1G75, 378; charges for fer- riage in, 423; value of cattle in, about 1690, 480; owners of sheep in, about 1690, 482; price of wool, 485; per- sonal estates in, ii. 250; trade with Barbadoes, 326 ; English merchants trading with planters in, 334 ; Indian marts in, 388; shipbuilders residing in, 439 ; manufacture of linen in, 459 ; owners of looms residing in, 470; manufacture of shoes in, 477; own- ers of mills in, 490; coin in invento- ries of, 515; town building in, 549, 556, .558.

Landon, Thomas, ii. 50, 471.

Lane, Ralph, i. 25, 32, 54; describes country about Roanoke Island, 11 ; his dream of precious metals at Roanoke dissipated, 14; his account of Roanoke Colony, 26 ; anxious to discover a harbor on Chesapeake Bay, 27 ; his expedition to the Chese- pians, 27; his account of the natural products of Roanoke Island, 47 ; ii. 422 ; Thomas, ii. 333, 334.

Lark, i. 119, 120.

Lawnes Creek, i. 319.

Lawrence, Richard, ii. 109, 546.

Lawson, Antony, i. 373, ii. 328, 552.

Leah and Rachel, ii. 9.

Lear, Colonel John, ii. 125.

Leases, system of, in time of Company, i. 229 ; reasons discouraging renting of land, 411, 412; land leased by Governor and Council after disso- lution of Company, 412, 413; pro- visions of, 413-417 ; Fitzhugh wishes to lease land to Huguenots, 417.

Leather, ii. 326; quantities of, owned by leading planters, 476, 477 ; Bev- erley condemns leather of Virginia as very defective, 479; viewers ap- pointed to seize defective, 480. See also Hides.

Lee, Francis, ii. 333, 334 ; George, 334,

365; John, 334; Richard, i. 448, 573, 609; his silver plate, ii. 174; lands patented by, 253; owns a store, 381, 382; Robert E., 579; Thomas, 309.

Leeward Islands, i. 460.

Leicester, Lord, i. 24.

Leigh, William, ii. 88.

Leisler, Jacob, ii. 315.

Lemons, i. 48, 251, 328.

Lenior, Thomas, i. 418.

Leominster, i. 484.

Leopoldus, ship, i. 352.

Lettuce, i. 251.

Lewis, John, i. 545.

Licques, Peter de, ii. 432.

Light, Robert, ii. p. 53; Williams, 48.

Lightenhouse, Robert, ii. 514.

Lightening, i. 131, 132.

Lightfoot, Philip, ii. 143.

Lime, ii. 158.

Linch, Henry, ii. 315.

Lindsay, Earl of, i. 292.

Linen, i. 99; Virginia expected to be- come an important seat of manu- facture of, as early as 1612, ii.454: no persistent effort made to manufact- ure, until 1646, when it was decided to erect two houses at Jamestown for the purpose, 455 ; Samuel Math- ews employs spinners of flax, 456 ; law for encouragement of linen manufacture passed at the instance of Lord Culpeper, 45(>-458 ; rewards for production of, 458 ; linen-wheels, 458; planters who manufactured linen cloth, 458, 459.

Linney, John, gift to the poor, ii. 257.

Liquors, used by Indians, i. 167. See Wines.

Littlepage, Edward, ii. 334.

Littleton, Southey, i. 377; residence of, ii. 157.

Liverpool, ii. 338; merchants of, trad- ing with Virginia, 334.

Livingstone, i. 72.

Lloyd, Cornelius, i. 372; ii. 1.57, 250, 318; his personal estate, 250; Ed- ward, .324; William, 553.

Lobs, George, i. 366.

Lockey, Edward, number of his cat- tle, i. 372; number of horses owned by, 375; his residence, ii. 154; con-

61^

tents of his store, 385 ; Elizabeth, 33.

Locust, i. 146, 170. See Fences.

London, i. 63, 64, 69, 87, 92, 286, 2!)1, 293, 353, 363, 384, 385, 424, 448, 450, 452, 458, 581, 590, 592, 593, 608, 610, 614, 615, 620, 630; ii. 48, 84, 150, 297, 334, 338, 355, 370, 378.

London Company, its powers, 1. 2 ; its quarter courts, 3 ; ventures preced- ing it too weak, 6; gold and the supposed nearness of the South Sea, their intiuence in the formation of, 11 ; letter to, from Jamestown, 15 ; interest of members weakened, 20; Smith's practical letter to, 21 ; in- structions to colonists in 1607, "0; Newport's instructions, 36; temper of Spain and England at time of the formation of the Company, 44 ; diverted from trade and production by expectation of gold, 49 ; in 1610 Company summoned Gates before it ; what he said, 50; also Smith's views, 50; steps to establish vine- yards and raise silk-worms, 51; its urgent commands to Virginia authorities to give more attention to staple commodities; reasons for this change, 52 ; strong reason *or formation of the Company, that in the commercial relations between England and Virginia there would be little demand for money sterling, 53 ; at its formation, British seamen idle and going into foreign service, and merchants selling their ships, 56; a commercial organization, 69; unlike other companies, for colo- nization as well as trade and discov- ery, 69 ; one hundred of its members in East India Company also, and Sir Thos. Smythe the head of both, 69; advertise for ploughwrights for Colony, 200; in 1610, instructed authorities in Virginia to return to mother country sassafras and a number of other articles, 261 ; pro- tests against policy of King James towards tobacco, 265 : presented Mr. Bennett with freedom of its guild because his treatise had urged that

importation of Spanish tobacco into England should be prohibited, 265; agreement with Somers Isles Com- pany, and its tobacco sent to Hol- land, 265; by patent of 1609 ex- empted from every form of custom except 5 per cent, but this disre- garded to advantage of the Spanish, 267; appointed informers to enforce King's proclamation, 270; urged to let no settler come unless he brought one year's supply, 275 ; dissolved, 276 : contention with King James in 1821, 346; after dissolution, Privy Council ordered its lauds to be planted and seated, 412; terms of years which had been assigned by it to the Governor were granted as late as 1647, 413 : upheld with firm- ness, right under its charters, of ab- solute disposition of the soil of Virginia, 488, 489 : its ability to con- vey interest in land in Virginia, 500 ; Governor and Council mere agents of, in conveying land, 501 ; manner of conveying land, 502 ; the grounds upon which a grant was made; the bill of adventure, 502-508; per- formance of meritorious service, 508-511 ; importation of persons into the Colony, 512-515; grant of land in large areas in time of, 527 ; surveyor dispatched to Colony by, 532, 533; fees for issuing patents in time of, 552; establishment of monthly courts by, 571 ; servants and their indentures in time of, 588 ; how far the Company was willing to import criminals, 589-(i01 : orders Argoll to find a new route to Vir- ginia, 624 ; length of passage in time of, 624; first supplies intro- duced by, ii. 260 ; sends out Second Supply, 264; funds raised by lot- teries, 275; small returns to, from the enterprise, by 1616, 279 : adopts rules and orders, 287 ; its ability to supply the Colony exhausted, 291 ; issues an advertisement for skilled mechanics, 400, 401 : proposition made to, by John Wood, for build- ing of ships on Elizabeth Kiver, 428 ;

QU

INDEX

anxious to erect saw-mills, 429 ; con- tracts with Norton for glass manu- factixre, 441,442 ; its offers to South- ampton and Martin's Hundreds with reference to conversion of Indian children, 44(J; provides food and clothing for iron workers at Falling Creek, 448; action after destruction of iron works on Falling Creek, 449; proposes the erection of a bloomery, 450 ; tanners and shoemakers intro- duced by, 474, 475 ; seeks to promote manufacture of salt, 483, 484 ; intro- duces millwrights, 487 ; manufact- ure of pipe staves and clapboards in time of, 492 ; pitch and tar, 493 ; condition of Jamestown in time of, 526-531.

London tradesmen, ii. 267 ; funds of, 270.

Londonderry, ii. 329.

Long, Roger, ii. 478.

Longman, Richard, i. 575; ii. 217, 231.

Lonnon, Richard, ii. 334.

Looms, i. 55 : ii. 461, 470.

Lotteries, funds raised by, for Lon- don Company, ii. 275-278.

Loving, Thomas, i. 535 ; ii. .366.

Low Countries. See Dutch and Hol- land.

Lown or Loun, James, ii. 479.

Lowry, Thomas, ii. 330.

Lucas", Henry, ii. 423; Mrs., ii. 122.

Ludlow, George, ii. 322 ; sued by New England merchants, 317 ; appointed arbitrator, 3()6 ; Thomas, number of sheep owned by, i. 377; ii. 174; his residence, 154; his personal estate, 248; Colonel, i. 366.

Ludwell, Mss., preface, ix; Philip, appointed deputy surveyor-general, i. 535 ; his general notice as deputy surveyor, 53(5 ; Thomas, 397, 607 ; his letter about the country traversed by Berkeley's expedition in search of the South Sea, 40 ; proposes a form for land patents, 517; ii. 30; writes to Secretary Bennett as to ship-building in Virginia, 434 ; buys a house at Jamestown, 5.34; writes as to condition of Jamestown in 1665, 545.

Luke, Oliver, ii. 246. Lynhaven, i. 307, 353; ii. 141; Bay, 320; River, i. 374.

McClure, Captain, 1. 41.

Machen, ii. 250.

Mackerel, ii. 33.

Macocks, i. 98.

Madeira Island, i. 401; wheat shipped from Virginia to, 460.

Madeira wine. See Wines.

Madison, Captain, i. 217; Thomas, ii. 423.

Madrid, i. 63.

Magazine, i. 225 ; prices for tobacco adopted by, 255 ; ii. 295, 358, 359, 496 ; a joint stock for its purchase, 279; how administered, 280 ; time and season for sending it, 281 ; broken up by ArgoU, 283; precautions against fraud, 286 ; abolished, 288.

Maguel, Don, i. 27, 32, 189, 243; his reference to iron manufacture in Virginia, ii. 445.

Maize, Indians had individual prop- erty in, i. 150 ; manner of planting, 151 ; time for planting, 152 ; varieties cultivated by Indians, 153 ; gathered and stored by Indians, 155 ; extent of maize fields in aboriginal Vir- ginia, 155-157 ; quantities of gar- nered maize owned by Indians, 157, 158; used by Indian conjurers in their ceremonies, 159; manner of cooking it among the Indians, 173; first cultivation of, by the English, 198 ; the crop of, in United States in 1879, 199 ; Dale encourages planting of, 212 ; every householder in 1619 to reserve a barrel of, 236 ; its rate of increase, 252; reasons for its not becoming the main product of the Colony in the beginning, 258 ; in 1624 all planters allowed to sell maize at highest price obtainable, 275 ; price of, in 1630, 309 ; bought from Indians in 1634, and the price, 330; size of the barrels in which the law required it to be shipped, 382 ; method of pre- paring soil for planting, 4<)6; price of, in 1676, ii. 206; used in brewing, 212.

615

Major, William, owns spoons, ii. 1G9.

Makule, John, i. 351.

Malaga, ii.21G-231.

Malin, Edwin, ii. 141.

Malley, John, ii. 320.

Mallis, John, ii. 473.

Malt, i. 3oil, 579 ; new-comers to bring in a supply, ii. 211, 213.

Malt mills, ii. 213.

Maltravers, Lord, granted the right to supply people of Virginia with corn, ii. 500.

Mamanahunt, i. 158.

Maiigoaks, i. 27.

Manhattan, wheat and maize disposed of to traders of, i. 329.

Manosquosick, i. 110.

jNIausell, Henry, i. 270.

Manufactured supplies, domestic, re- lations of Colony to manufactures, ii. 391-390; Beverley comments on lack of local manufactures, 397, 398; classes of mechanics, 399 ; mechanics imported, 400, 401 ; privileges al- lowed them, 401; planters import mechanics from England, 403; im- ported mechanics bring tools from England, 405; orphans and indigent children trained in mechanics' arts, 400^10 ; contract between Bond and Brock, 406, 407 ; free mechanics, 410 ; provisions for improving condition of, 410-413 ; lack of a metallic cur- rency injurious to interests of me- chanics, 413; remoteness of planta- tions also, 414; wages, 41.5-417; me- chanics enjoyed prosperity, but largely from planting, 418; black- smiths, 418, 419 ; coopers, 420-422 ; carpenters, 422-426 ; shipwrights, 426 ; first ship built in Virginia, 426 ; numerous boats about 1650, 4-32 ; ex- emptions allowed to ship owners re.siding in Virginia, 433, 436, 437 ; Berkeley's reference to ships owned by Virginians in 1671, 434; making of glass, 441,442; of iron, 444-454; of linen , 454-459 ; woollen manufact- ures, 460; tailors, 471-474; tanners, curriers, and shoemakers, 474-480; leather, liides, and skins. 47<V483; manufacture of salt, 483-486; of

meal and plank, 487^91 ; pitch and tar, 493, 494. Manufactured supplies, foreign, sig- nificance of importation of foreign supplies, ii. 259; value of, in l(i64, 259; cost of First Supply borne by Company, 2(50; the Second Supplj-, 265 ; City Companies aid in sending supplies, 266 ; the Third Supply, 268 ; duties under Second Charter, 268; martial laws relating to supplies, 273 ; funds raised by lotteries, 275 ; the Magazine, 280; first Magazine ships, 281 ; Magazine broken up by Argoll, 283 ; Magazine abolished, 288 ; trade with Dutch, 292 ; famine following massacre, 294, 295 ; sup- plies brought in by John Preen, 298; supplies from Holland, 300-315; De- vries trades in Virginia, 303 ; trade with Holland during Protectorate, 310; a charter party with Dutch shippers, 311 ; trade with New Neth- erlands, 314, 315; New York, 315, 310; New England, 317-322; Mary- land, 322-324; West Indies, .324-328; Ireland, 329 ; South America, 329; Scotland, 329; England, 331-391; English merchants engaged in im- porting supplies, 332-334 ; profits of Virginian trade, .3.35-337 ; course fol- lowed by English merchants in ship- ping cargoes to Virginia, 342-344; pirates, 346; wages of seamen, 347; freight charges, 348 ; port duties, 349-352; engrossing and forestall- ing, 353-364; markets established at certain points, 360; the factor and his commission, 364: prevalence of the credit system in Virginia, 367 ; contracts to be drawn in figures of money sterling, .368 ; mortgages used by merchants to secure debts on advances of goods, 309, 370: debt- ors, 371 ; unconscionable dealings of merchants, 373 ; deceptions prac- tised by, 374; Navigation laws en- hance price of goods imported, 375, 376; planters who imported mer- chandise, 377-380 ; merchants resid- ing at Jamestown. 377, 379, 380; stores, 382-385 ; trade with Indians,

616

INDEX

385-389 ; attempts to establish regu- lar markets, 389-391.

Manures, i. 322, 426-428.

Maracocks, i. 98, 153.

March, John, ii. 4G9.

Marjoram, i. 332.

Markets, established at certain points, ii. 360; effort to establish regular markets in Virginia, 389-391.

Marl, i. 79, 427.

Marlborough, town, ii. 559.

Marmaduke, ship, ii. 290, 354.

Marseilles, i. 400.

Marsh lands, i. 109, 431-435.

Marsh, Peter, cider specialty of, ii. 214.

Marshal, i. 229.

Marshall, Roger, i. 511; "William, 465; ii. 91, 326; personal estate of, 250; his ■wool cards, 469.

Marson, John, ii. 22.

Marstone, Rowland, ii. 311.

Martian, Nicholas, ii. 123.

Martin Brandon, i. 412.

Martin, Captain, i. 37, 133, 157, 506; proposes to till the Phaenix with ore, 20; experiments vrith silk-grass, 219 ; ii. 6, 282, 286 ; obstructs collection of Magazine debts, 285 : John, i. 449, 450, 624 ; William, 575.

Martins, i. 127.

Martin's Hundred, i. 207, 300, 505, 506, 507, 513, 533, 587 ; erection of the palisade from, to Cheskiack, 39, 300, 312 ; ii. 6, 282 ; the directors of, refuse an offer of money for conversion of Indian children, 446; proposition to seat iron workers at, 450.

Martyn, John, i. 297 : ii. 334.

Maryland, i. 385, 387: Virginians re- tire to, in sickly season, 139; its erection, 318; wheat and maize dis- posed of to traders of, 329; Bland, in name of planters of Virginia and Maryland, remonstrates against Navigation Acts, 360-362 : planters of Virginia request cessation of tobacco culture in, 389; Assembly of, refuses to prohibit the planting of tobacco after June 20th, 390 ; size of tobacco crop in Virginia and, in 1664, 391 ; Lord Baltimore declares that a cessation is injurious to the

people of, 392 ; General Assembly of Virginia, in 1666, send messengers to Maryland to agree upon a cessa- tion in spite of the King's order, 393; Assembly of Maryland agrees, 394 ; disapproved by Baltimore, 394 ; ii. 23, 2.39 ; supplies from, 299 ; method of threshing wheat in, in 1790, i. 465; trade with Virginia, ii. 322- 324 ; debtors take refuge in, .367 ; its Indians encroach on traffic of Vir- ginians with the Indians of Virginia, 387.

Mason, George, sends Fitzhugh claret, ii. 215 ; John, 491 ; Lemuel, 170, 375 ; William, 141.

Massacre of 1622, i. 270-274; ii. 71.

Massinnacock, i. 18.

Masts, i. 46.

Matchatax, river, ii. 346.

Mathew, Thomas, ii. 323, 456.

Mathews, Francis, number of cattle in his possession, i. 372; number of his horses, 375; plank in his personal estate, ii. 147; glass, 160; furniture in his house, 179 ; his personal estate, 249 ; Jonathan, 334 ; Luke, 471 ; Sam- uel, his approval of Goring tobacco contract, i. 288; offers with Clai- borue to erect a palisade from Mar- tin's Hundred to Cheskiack, 300; together with Claiborne builds the palisade, 312; his petition again.st tobacco culture in England in time of Cromwell, 364; grant to, by Wicco- comico Indians, 494, 496; average age of his servants, 600; ii. 240; lands patented by, 252 ; controversy with Harvey, 303; owns numerous artificers, 456 ; weaves cloth of wool, 460, 461 ; owns a tannery, 475, 476 ; a representative man of the seven- teenth century, 576.

Mattapony, king of, i. 493 ; River, 104, 141, 159.

Mattoom, i. 165.

Maul, Thomas, ii. .320.

Maverick, Samuel, i. 311.

Mavis, ii. 328. See Mevis.

Mayplis, George, ii. 218.

Mead, John, contract with Digges for mechanical work, ii. 416.

INDEX

617

Meakins, Richard, ii. 436.

Meal, price of, in 1623, i. 273; ground by water mills, ii. 487. See Mills.

Mechanics, i. 57() ; special privileges granted them by Argoll, 223; the classes of, ii. 399, 400 ; reasons to dis- courage their emigration from Eng- land, 400; earliest privileges allowed them, 401 ; servants' terms too short to allow a careful education in me- chanical trades, 403; imported me- chanics bring tools with them, 405; orphans and indigent children edu- cated as, 406-410; provisions made for them at end of term in time of Robert Beverley, Jr., 407 ; the class of free mechanics, 410; exempted from payment of levies, 411, 412; privileges allowed them under Co- habitation Acts, 412, 551 ; lack of metallic currency hostile to their prosperity, 413; prosperity dimin- ished by the remoteness of planta- tions, 414 ; wages of, 415-417 ; en- joyed fair measure of prosperity, but largely from planting, 418.

Meders, Thomas, ii. 141.

Medicines, used by Indians, i. 187. See Physicians.

Mediterranean Sea, i. 43.

Medlicott, Richard, ii. 81, 82.

Melons, i. 98; ii. 201.

Melshewe, ii. 134.

Melville Sound, i. 41.

Menetie, George, plantation of, famous for fruits, i. 332; ii. 54, 75; land patents obtained by, 252 ; describes himself as a merchant, 377 ; sues out a patent, 1()38, 380; visits England to secure men to build a state house at Jamestown, 403; his residence at Jamestown, 531; visits England to obtain workmen, 534; a representa- tive man of the seventeenth century, 576.

Menendez, i. 66.

Mercer, Christopher, ii. 328 ; John, 559.

Mercer's Company, ii. 266, 272.

Merchants, i. 235; English, engaged in trade in Holland, 352; trade of English, in eastern merchandise, 354; they condemn action of spirits,

616, 617; ii. 84, 101, 3,-^; English, anxious to export malt to Virginia, 213; not allowed to retail wines at Jamestown in 1645, 223; English, re- siding in Low Countries, 302; and trading with Virginia, 311; few casual dealers among, 331; classes of English, trading with Colony, 332; trade of English, Avith jilanters making shipments to England, 338- 341 ; course followed by English, in shipping cargoes to Virginia, 342; branches of trade represented by English, 343; conditional agencies created by them, 1344; their inter- ests hostile to enforcement of laws against engrossing and forestalling, 362, 363; compelled to seek mar- kets at private landings, 364; the merchant as a partner, 364 ; preva- lence of credit system in Colony, 367 ; bad debts incurred by, 367 ; all contracts to be made in money, 3()9 ; different methods adopted to secure debts, 369-371 ; debts contracted out- side by Virginia, 372; unconscion- able dealings of, 373, 374 ; deceptions practised by, 374; Navigation Acts increased cost of merchandise to colonists, 375 ; competition between Dutch and English, 376; described as chapmen, 377; planters engaged in trade, 377-380; the store and its contents, 380-385; the trade with Indians, 385-389; petition for days of departure for ships engaged in Virginia trade, 385; English, own land in Virginia, 389; the attempt to establish regular markets, 389; Bristol, build ships in Virginia, 438 ; the English, oppose the Act for Ports, 559, 561.

Meredith, John, ii. 439.

Meriwether, Thomas, ii. 334.

Merret, Richard, ii. 213.

Merritt, Isaac, ii. 334.

Messages, public, how tran.smitted, ii. 239.

Metals, importance of the mine in a.s- sociation with colonization, i. 11 ; dis- covery of ore in Newfoundland by Gilbert, 12; presence of precious

618

INDEX

metals expected to cause a great influx of population, 12, 13; the thirst for gold and silver in the age of Elizabeth, 13, 14; special provi- sion made in the letters patent of 160(3 for the division of the gold, silver, and copper found in Vir- ginia, 14 ; Newport writes Salisbury that Virginia was very rich in gold and copper, 15, 16 ; Newport accom- panied to Virginia, when in charge of First Supply, by goldsmiths and refiners, 16; infatuation of settlers in their search for gold, 16 ; Newport makes an expedition into the Mona- can country partly for the discovery of the precious metals, 17 ; the colo- nists given up to the search for the precious metals during a part of Delaware's administration, 18, 19; Faldoe, the Helvetian, misleads the colonists as to a silver mine, 19; John Smith condemns the search for gold and silver, 20 ; expeditions west of Falls after 1630 to discover gold and silver, 81, 82.

Mevis, i. 321. See Mavis.

Mexico, i. 13, 34, 66 ; Gulf of, 34.

Michell, Bernard, ii. 345.

Middle Plantation Parish, ii. 144, 562.

Middleburg, i. 265, 266; ii. 292.

Middlesex County, records of, preface, ix ; prizes for wolves' heads in 1675, i. 378 : Plant-Cutters' Rebellion in, 405 ; injury inflicted by Plant-Cutters' Rebellion on people of, 406 ; prices of horses in, in 1688, 475 ; value of cat- tle in, about l(i90, 480, 481 ; owners of sheep in, about 1690, 482 ; opposes importation of jail-birds, 605 ; value of slaves in, ii. 92; brick court house in, 144; residences in, 156; silver- ware used by citizens of, 173 ; per- sonal estates in, 251 ; the poor in, 257 ; English merchants trading in, 334; weights and measures used in, 375; manufacture of linen in, 459; manufacture of woollen cloth in, 463; references to "Virginia stockings," in records of, 470; own- ers of mills in, 490; town building in, 549. 552, 556, 558.

Middleton, i. 211.

Mildmay, Sir Humphrey, i. 86.

Milford, flour imported from, ii. 317.

Milk, ii. 206, 209, 210.

Miller, Robert, i. 482; Simon, ii. 439; Thomas, 421.

Mills, ii. 243 ; millwrights sent to Col- ony in 1620, 487 ; first windmill in Virginia in 1621, 487; corn-mills owned by Hugh Bullock, 487; charges of millers excessive, 487; number of, in Vii'giuia in 1649, 488 ; inducements to encourage erec- tion of, in 1667, 488 ; rapid increase in number from 1667 to close of cen- tury, 489 ; cost of building, 489 ; flour- mills in 1671, 490 ; Colonel Byrd owns two grist-mills, 490; saw-mills at Jamestown in 1630, 491; propelled by horse power, 491.

Milner, silver belonging to estate of, ii. 171.

Minge, James, i. 536; ii. 214.

Minks, i. 127.

Mobjack Bay, ii. 346.

Mocking-birds, i. 123.

Mode, Giles, ii. 201, 213.

Mohun, John, ii. 345.

Molasses, ii. 325.

Molina, i. 32, 64, 66, 104. 105, 134, 2.39.

Monacan country and Indians, i. 17, 21, 36,41, 197; ii. 440.

Money, lack of metallic currency in- jures prosperity of mechanics, ii. 413; pieces of eight valued at five shillings in order to improve con- dition of mechanics, 413, 414; to- bacco the standard of value in Vir- ginia throughout the seventeenth century, 495, 496 ; the inconven- iences of tobacco as a currency, 497 ; in 1619 there was no coin in Virginia, 498; Sir George Yeardley's estate converted into tobacco as a substi- tute for coin, 499; coin introduced into the Colony by masters of ships in paying tax on exported hogs- heads, 500 ; Lord Maltravers granted the right to supply the people of Virginia with coin, 500; burgesses suggest that a petition be presented to the King begging him to import

INDEX

619

into Virginia £5000, 501 ; no money- debts pleadable iu a court of law, 501 ; arbitrary rates established for the piece of eight, 502; means adopted by the Assembly to compel the inhabitants to accept coin at the rates prescribed, 503, 504; the tax of two shillings upon every hogs- head exported had in view in part the introduction of coin, 504 ; the General Assembly in 1658 inflict a fine for a refusal to take sound sil- ver pieces of eight, 505 ; contracts in 1669 drawn in coin to be paid in coin, 506; coin included in inven- tories of estates, small in amount as late as 1670, 507 ; General Assembly in 1680 again prescribe legal rates for money sterling, 507; Lord Cul- peper fixes the value of money ster- ling by proclamation, 508; planters unable to obtain coin from England to pay quit-rents, 509 ; commission- ers of customs in England in 1686 refuse the request of the colonial authorities to advance coin beyond its intrinsic worth, 509, 510; in 1697 quantity of English money in circu- lation in Virginia extremely small, 510, 511 ; the reasons for this lack of coin, 511, 512; the lion or dog dollar in circulation on the Eastern Shore, 513; instances towards end of century in which coin formed a part of the personal estate of de- ceased persons, 514, 515 ; specialties at this time in large numbers made payable in money sterling, 515; debts sometimes required to be paid in New England money, 515 ; im- portance of the bill of exchange in internal and external trade of Col- ony, 516, 517 ; bill of exchange drawn in form of three duplicates, 518; in many instances bills protested, 518; the penalty, 519 ; process in case the drawer of the protested bill was not to be found, 519, 520; how long the right of suit on a protested bill should last, 520; roanoke, wam- pumpeke, and beaver used as cur- rency, 520, 521.

Monkeys, 1. 127.

Monmouth, Earl of, i. 611.

Monroe, Fortress, i. 105.

Moody, .Josiah, ii. 175.

Moone, Abraham, i. 429; John, 551.

Moor, i. 625.

Moore, Francis, ii. ;!34; Alexander, 214; James, 248; Richard, 214.

Moratoc River, i. 26, 32,511; Indians report a mine on, 11.

Moraughtacund, i. 142.

Morefields, i. 240.

Morgan, Christopher, ii. 3S4; Philip, 127 ; Rowland, i. 299.

Morrah, .John, ii. 327, 514.

Morrison, Captain Francis, ii. 444.

Morryson, Governor, i. 373; writes to Clarendon as to the building at Jamestown under Act of 1662, ii. 545.

Mortgages, employed by merchants to secure debts, ii. .369.

Morton, Sir William, i. 567.

Moscow, i. 22.

Mo.seley, William, i. 5.36; number of his horses, 375; number of sheep owned by, 377 ; appointed agent of Thomas Sheppard, 522; ii. 311; per- sonal estate of, 250.

Mosquitoes, i. 128.

Moss, Edward, expenditures for his servant, ii. 9 ; Elizabeth, 108.

Motley, John, ii. 422.

Mottrom, John, ii. 114.

Mouutcastle, Henry, appointed an agent, ii. 311.

Mowheminike, i. 18.

Moysonicke, i. 80, 150, 158.

Mulattoes, i. 318; ii. 53, 91, 110, 112, 126 ; a Spanish Mulatto, 80 ; a wea- ver, 103; a runaway, 116; property- holder, 127.

Mulberries, i. 91, 165, 179, 240, 369, .399.

Mulberry, Island, ii. 354 ; all tobacco above this point to be transported to Jamestown for shipment abroad, 543 ; Shade, i. 91.

Munyon, -John, ii. 334.

Murphy, Charles J., i. 260.

Murray, William, ii. 472.

Muscadine, ii. 216, 221.

620

Muscovy Company. See Russia Com- pany.

Musical Instruments, ii. 175

Muskmelons, i. 98.

Mutton, more esteemed by colonists than venison, ii. 19!).

Myles, David, personal estate of, ii. 250.

Myrtle berry, i. 98.

Nails, i. 233, 339, 420; ii. 146, 147, 149.

Naraantack, i. 17.

Nansemond, County, i. 103; trade with West Indies, ii. 328 ; safe har- bor selected for shipi^ing in waters of, 345 ; ordered to supply men for building fort at Point Comfort, 417; town building in, 548, 556; Indi- ans, i. 141, 499; River, 80, 104, 105, 133, 142, 156, 157, 208.

Napier, Dr., ii. 232, 234; Elizabeth, 519.

Napkins, ii. 168.

Naples, i. 400.

Narsis, i. 51.

Naval officers, i. 389 ; stores, 8, 41.

Navigation Acts, i. 52, 584; their effect upon growth of English shipping, 58; Bland's remonstrance against, 294 ; first suggestion of, in 1641, by English merchants, 348; Act of 1651 and its terms, 349; the right of free trade claimed by Virginians, 349; instance of Walter Chiles, 350; New England traders disre- gard the necessity of securing a special license, 351 ; right of free trade suspended during war with Holland, 351, 352; duty of ten shil- lings on each hogshead exported in deference to the Act, 353; advance in freight rates during Protectorate would seem to show that absolute free trade was not enjoyed, 354; General Assembly require a bond of English ship-masters not to inter- fere with alien vessels, 355 ; passage of Act of 1660, 35(i ; its terms, 357 ; at first evaded, 358; more strictly enforced as time went on, 359; Mr. Bland's remonstrance against, 360; reasons for his objection to, 360-362 ;

naval officers created by terms of, 389 ; Berkeley declares the, destruc- tive of the silk industry in Virginia, 400; the Virginians petition for a revocation of, 401 ; the planters shut out of transatlantic markets except by way of England, 403; Lord Cul- peper meets representatives of the Muscovy Company, 404; not appli- cable to island wines, ii. 76, 230; a desire to exclude all comijetition leads to the passage of, 259; they deprive Virginians of the advan- tage of free trade, 312 ; arrest of the sloop Katharine under author- ity of, 316; the New Englanders' disregard of, 321 ; smuggling on Eastern Shore, in spite of, 329 ; the factor required by, to be a native or naturalized subject of England, 364 ; increase cost of imported mer- chandise, 375 ; discouraging to ship- building in Virginia, 435; effect of, on local manufacrtures, 466.

Naylor, Mrs. Mary, i. 469.

Neale, James, ii. 322 ; Thomas, 240.

Neckcloth, ii. 191.

Necotowance, i. 492.

Negroes, as overseers, ii. 18, 24; as servants, 52, 53; doubtful views as to their humanity, 64, 65; first brought to Virginia, 71 ; baptism of, 95; free, 121-128; emancipation by masters, instances, 122-125 ; owning land, 126 ; not allowed to acquire white servants, 127 ; enjoying right of suffrage, 127, 128; acting as sureties, 127. See Slaves.

Nelson County, i. 82.

Nelson, John, sued by a tailor, ii. 472; Captain, i. 196.

Nepenough, the Indian September, i. 177.

Netherlands, i. 51.

Netherway, Richard, i. 609.

Nevis, ii. 328. See Mavis and Mevis.

Nevitt, Hugh, i. 606.

New Amsterdam, i. 352; ii. 307, 308, 310, 314.

New England, i. 312, 461 ; Indian corn shipped to, 310; Indian corn ex- ported to, in 1643, 329 ; Stratton au-

INDEX

621

thorized to transport grain to, 330 ; prices of cattle in, in 1645, 333 ; ship- masters of, disregard the require- ments as to special license in 1653, 351 ; tohacco from Virginia sent to, in disregard of Navigation Acts, 357 ; irregular trading of ship-masters from, 363; horses imported from, 376; planters write to, for ships to transport tobacco to England, 448, 451 ; wheat shipped from Virginia to, 460 ; shipments of pork to, 486 ; intestacy law in, 571 ; ii. 80, 81, 141, 308; trade with Virginia, 317-322; no market in England and Holland for many of its products, 434 ; mer- cantile system bore harder on, than on Virginia, 395; ascertained value of its coin in Virginia, 507; judg- ment granted in money of, 515 ; bills of exchange drawn on, 516, 517.

New Haven, ii. 317.

New Kent County, i. 554 ; Plant-Cut- ters' Rebellion in, 405, 40G ; runaway slaves in, ii. 115; Brick House in, 144; Indian marts in, 388; town building in, 54'.) ; jurors from, to assess site of Williamsburg, 563.

New Netherlands, ii. 299, 432.

New Plymouth, ii. 318, .553.

New, Richard, i. 609 ; ii. 255.

New York, ii. 299, 315.

Newcastle, ii. 22.

Newell, Jonathan, cow-bells in his store, i. 478 ; ii. 54, 165 ; supplies Joseph Croshaw's daughter with clothes, 194 ; his personal estate, 249; his store in York County, 381 ; furnishes rigging for a sloop, 436; his wool cards, 469.

Newfoundland, i. 1, 4, 12, 46; Com- pany, 69; Fisheries, 230; ii. 292, 435.

Newgate, i. 602, 605.

Newport, Captain, writes to Salisbury, i. 15, 49; carries worthless dirt to England, 16, .35 ; fits out a shallop to explore the Powhatan, 28 ; inter- ested in finding South Sea, as an officer of the Russian Company, 3() ; his visit to Werowocomoco, 1.58, 180 ; his voyage to the Falls, 178; his

visit to Opechancanough, 179, 184; Powhatan offers him a whole king- dom, 489; has charge of the first supplies, ii. 262, 264 ; transports iron ore to England, 445; arrives with the First Supply, 526.

Newport's News, i. 102, 246, 271.

Newport, Sir Richard, ii. 336.

Newton, George, ii. 140.

Nicholls, John, emancipates slaves, ii. 124; owns spinning-wheels, 469: Robert, ii. ,323; Thomas, ii. 15.

Nicholson, Governor, 1. 363; ii. 3.52; designates safe harbors for ships in 1691, .345; his proclamation with reference to seamen, .348; seeks to discourage local manufactures, 465 ; suggests the passage of the Act for Ports, 555 ; buvs a lot at Yorktown, 5.57.

Nicolson, Thomas, ii. 479.

Night raven, i. 118.

Nilksou, John, ii. 507.

Nominy, ii. 556.

Nordenskiold, i. 41.

Norfolk County, Lower, preface, ix; storekeeper appointed for, i. 307; value of cattle in, about ICAo, 3.33, .3.34 ; number of horses in, about 1647, 335; prizes for wolves' heads in, 1649, 336; its trade with Hol- land, 353 ; cattle owners in, about 1650, 372; wild cattle in, 373: num- ber of horses in, about 1665, .374, 375 ; law passed for collection of duty in, .387; owners of vessels in, 446; owners of sheep in, about 1690, 482 ; prizes given in, for destruction of wolves, 483; specialties for pork, 486; ii. 346-348; prices of slaves in, 92; residences in, 156, 157; silver- ware owned by citizens of, 173; a funeral in, 23(1; personal estates of citizens of, 249 ; workhouses in, 256 ; Dutch trade with, 311 ; trade of, with New York, 315; with New England, .318; with Maryland, .324; with Bermudas, .328; English mer- chants trading in, SM ; ordered to furnish men to build fort at Point Comfort, 417 ; records of, 418 : land owned by coopers in, 421 ; carpeu-

INDEX

ters owning land in, 423; ship- builders residing in, 439; owners of looms residing in, 470 ; also tanners, 478; owners of mills in, 490; manu- facture of tar in, 494 ; coin in inven- tories of citizens of, 514, 515 ; town building in, 549, 552, 556, 558, 559.

Norfolk Peninsula, i. 7G.

Norfolk town, first feoffees and lot owners, ii. 552.

North America, i. 40. See America.

Northampton County, trade of, with the Dutch in 1653, preface, ix; i. .351 ; sheep owners in, .377 ; law passed for collection of duty in, 387; cat- tle marks used in, 477; privileges allowed Indians of, in 1654, 493; town building in, ii. 127, 346, 424, 556; residences in, 1.57; silverware owned by citizens of, 172 ; Nor- wood's account of, 197; English merchants trading with, 334 ; Indian marts in, 388 ; shipbuilders resid- ing in, 4.39; manufacture of woollen cloth in, 461 ; also of leather, 476 ; and salt, 485, 486.

Northampton, ship, i. 358.

Northamptonshire, ii. 404.

North Carolina, i. 88, 89.

Northern Neck, i. 417, 4.37, 475, 477, 537, 567, 569, 570; proprietaries of, 523 ; ii. 316, 324, 478.

Northumberland, Earl of, ii. 134, 265; County, law passed for collection of duty in, i. .387; Indian marts in, ii. 388 ; town building in, 549, 556.

Northwest Passage, i. 22, 24 ; the Com- pany, 69.

Norton, Captain William, contracts with Company to manufacture glass in Virginia, ii. 441, 442 ; brings to the Colony a number of Italians, 443.

Norway, i. 22.

Norwood, Colonel Henry, bis descrip- tion of hominy, i. 167 ; required to re- port his disposition of the quit-rents, 563; ii. 202; visits the Accomac Country, 163 ; one of the owners of the Pink, 184 ; his account of North- ampton County, 197; leaves James- town, 50(); Richard, i. 533.

Nottoway Indians, i. 498.

Nuce, i. 229 ; ii. 137.

Nuthall, Elias, i. 574, 575; John, 574,

.575 ; ii. 334. Nuts, i. 167 ; ii. 201.

Oaks, i. 48, 90, 166, 196.

Oats, i. 99, 337, 380, .381.

Oatmeal, i. 339, 579; ii. 296.

Oewin, William, ii. 352.

Ohio River, i. 34.

Oil, i. 51, 184; ii. 263, 264, 274, 340.

Okeham, John, personal estate of, ii.

250. Olives, i. 251, 328. Onions, i. 251, 337. Opechancanough, i. 30, 31, 157; his

village at West Point, 110; abun- dance of food at his residence, 179;

visited by Newport, 184; presents

land to Yeardley, 490. Oranges, i. 48, 194, 328. Orange, Prince of, ii. 66. Orapaks, i. 144. Orchards, i. 417, 468, 469. Oronoco tobacco, i. 434, 436-438, 441. Osborne, Thomas, i. 482; ii. 154, 177-

179, 257, 469. Otters, i. 127, 181. Oven, ii. 176. Overseers, i. 429, 430, 432, 433 ; ii. 17,

50; reasons for employing, 17, 18;

a negro overseer, IS ; share in the

crops, 47. Overzhe, Simon, ii. 311. Owen Davies, ii. 419. Owls, i. 117, 118. Oxen, i. 462. See Steers. Oxfordshire, i. 363. Oysters, i. 84, 113, 114, 173, 179; shells

of, i. 427.

Pagan Creek, ii. 346, 556.

Page, Francis, his will, ii. 142 ; his mourning rings, 195; owns a malt house, 213; John, owns interest in a vessel, i. 448; ii. 36, 107; his mourn- ing rings, 195; owns property in England, 247 ; acquires land patents, 253; owns part interest in a ship, 438; also a mill, 490; sued as execu- tor, 506; Mrs. John, her tombstone, ii. 236 ; Mathew, i. 625 ; aids in build-

INDEX

623

ing brick fort at Jamestown, ii. 144 ; buys a sea-bed, 163.

Pagett, Anthony, ii. 4.5.

Paggin, ii. 82; Peter, 333, 3.34; Wil- liam, 100.

Palmer. Anthony, ii. 325; Edward, 420: Henry, i. 253; Dr. William P., preface, xi.

Palos, i. 21.

Pamunkey, Indians, i. 492, 494 ; King of, i. 510; Neck, 499; River, 104, 110, 140-144, 165, 494; Town, 37, 180.

Panthers, i. 128, 170, 484.

Parakeets, i. 122.

Pargatis, Richard, ii. 469.

Paris, i. 61.

Parke, Daniel, emancipates a favorite slave, ii. 123; his house, 158; se- cures judgment against Thomas Warren, 345; builds a ship, 439; owns a mill, 490.

Parker, Daniel, ii. 334 ; Charles, 420 : John, 127; Judith, 175; Robert, 126; AVilliam, 470.

Parliament, i. 289, 351, 3.56, 596 ; grants free trade to Virginia, 350; seeks to discourage colonial manufactures, ii. 466.

Parrott, Richard, i. 545 ; manufactures linen, ii. 459; also woollen cloth, 463.

Parry, William, ii. 323.

Parsley, i. 251.

Parsnips, i. 251, 337.

Partis, Francis, ii. 547; William, 547.

Partridge, i. 120.

Paspaheigh, i. 207, 600; Werowance of, presents a deer to the English, 179 ; deserted fields at, 225 ; Indians, 170.

Passmore, Thomas, ii. 422.

Patents. See Title to Land.

Patestield, selected as the site for a new town, ii. 548.

Patuxent River, i. .38.

Pawpaw apple, i. 96.

Payne, Florentine, ii. 317 ; William, 319.

Peace Point, ii. 549.

Peach, i. 331, .332,417,468.

Peake, Sir Robert, i. 574.

Peale, Malachi, i. 500; ii. 559.

Pearls, i. 47, 48, 161, 183, 184.

Pears, i. 332, 417, 468, 543.

Peas, i. 153, 167, 195, 251, 273 ; ii. 296. '

Pecke, Thomas, i. 632.

Peckham, Sir George, i. 9, 54, 58, 60.

Peirce, Joan, ii. 50.

Pelton, George, owns bees, ii. 201.

Pen, John, ii. 246.

Penkevel, Richard, i. 25.

Penn, William, ii. 4S8.

Pennington, i. 291, 292.

Pennsylvania, seeks to draw coin from Virginia and Maryland, ii. 511.

Penrose, John, i. 412.

Penruddock, Edward, i. 610.

Percival, Edward, cattle owned by, i. 334.

Percy, George, sent out to procure grain from Indians, i. 35; first im- pressions of Virginia, 74; describes country near Jamestown, 100; refers to marshes at Cape Henry, 110 ; also to fevers among first settlers, 133; of liberal religious training, 205; fails to compel settlers to cultivate corn when in charge of Colony, 205 ; ii. 134; receives clothing from his brother, 265.

Perkins, Francis, 1. 122, 198; ii. 204, 2()6 ; Thomas, his wigs, ii. 191.

Perrin, Sebastian, i. 486.

Perry, Captain, ii. 84, 85; Henry, 75; Micajah. .333, 334, 422.

Persia, i. 1, 22,48,49,51.

Persimmons, i. 95, 160 ; ii. 212.

Person, Robert, i. 613.

Perth, i. 510.

Peru, i. 13, 99.

Peyton, Major, ii. 88.

Pheasant, i. 120.

Phelps, Edward, his inventory, ii. 191 ; and personal estate, 249; his store and its contents, 383.

Philadelphia, ii. 27, 325.

Philip III., i. 60, 62, 64.

Phillips, Captain, ii. 348; Lawrence, 250; William, 470.

Philpot Lane, i. 69.

Phipps, John, ii. 444.

Phoenix, i. 16,20, 37: ii. 264.

Phy.sicians, ii. 13, 2.31, 234.

Picket. See Pirket.

624

Piekworth, John and Benjamin, ii. 515. ^ Pictures, ii. 174.

Piece of Eight. See Money.

Pierce, William, i. 242, 288, 299, 600; Mrs. William, 328.

Piersey, Abraham, sows wheat and barley, i. 301 ; average age of his ser- vants, 600, 601; his ownership of slaves, ii. 72; wealthiest planter in the Colony, 149; where buried, 238; his estate, 244; summoned before first Assembly, 286; comes over as Cape Merchant, 281; delivers let- ters to Argoll, 282; writes to Com- pany, 285; tries to collect debts at Martin's Hundred, 285; goes to New- foundland for fish, 292 ; owns a store- house at Jamestown, 380.

Pigeons, wild, i. 121.

Pillory, ii. 120.

Pilots, ii. 352.

Pinchon, John, ii. 320.

Pineapples, i. 194.

Pine tree, i. 87-89, 262.

Pinnace, i. 239.

Pipe, i. 161, 163, 164.

Pipe staves, i. 262; ii. 492.

Pirates, ii. .346.

Pirket, Miles, ii. 484.

Piscataqua, i. 461; ii. 80.

Pitch, i. 17, 41, 46, 48-50, 89, 262, 393; ii. 325, 493.

Pitchett, John, ii. 444.

Pitt, Mathew, ii. 334.

Place, James, i. (i03 ; Rowland, 545, 546.

Plank, ii. 146, 491.

Plantains, i. 251.

Plantation System, its moral and eco- nomic influence, ii. 567-569; the re- sult of needs of tobacco culture, 569.

Plant-Cutters' Rebellion, i. 404-406.

Planter's Adventure, ship, ii. 437.

Plates, ii. 168.

Plato, i. 489.

Pleasants, John, i. 482; ii. 82, 100, 490.

Ploughs, i, 223, 321, 461, 462; none in Virginia previous to Smith's de- parture, 200, 201 ; number in Colony in 1649, ,338.

Plowden, Edmund, ii. 48.

Plumer, Francis, ii. 1.

Plums, i. 94, 468.

Plymouth, i. 15, 35, 353, .384, 412, 522, 620; ii. 297, 338.

Pocahontas, i. 211.

Pocoson, parish of, i. 421 ; river, 104. See Poquoson.

Pohickory Drink, i. 167.

Poindexter, Charles, preface, x; i. 31.

Point Comfort, i. 64, 156, 271, 330, 631 ; origin of the name, 104 ; Dale arrives at, 204 ; ii. 1.36, 349, 353, 356, 534.

Poland, i. 41, 46.

Poles, dispatched to Virginia in 1608, i. 49; ii. 430; accompany Newport to Virginia, 440; Burke's reference to the, in his speech on Conciliation, 568.

Polecats, i. 127.

Pollard, J. Garland, i. 499.

Pollington, John, ii. 298.

Polly, Mary, ii. 2 ; Samuel, 2.

Pomegranates, i. 251.

Poppleton, William, ii. 45.

Popplestone, Philip, ii. 438.

Population, in 1628, of Virginia, close upon 3000, i. 287 ; when Maryland was erected in 1634, did not exceed 5000: how distributed, 319; census of 1635 gives 4914 ; but Harvey esti- mated 2500 more, in all 7414, 319: in 1649, about 15,000 whites and 300 slaves, 336; in 1664, of Virginia and Maryland about 40,000, 391 ; Berke- ley, about 1666, calls it 40,000, 397 ; in 1624, number of servants, 601 ; number of slaves, ii. 77, 108.

Poquoson, ii. 477. See Pocoson.

Porcupine, i. 127.

Pork, i. 211, 311, 312, 330, 339. 486; ii. 20(5, 207, 264, 265, 326.

Poropotank Creek, ii.382.

Port Royal, ii. 278.

Portan, i. 420.

Porter, -John, ii. 2, 181.

Porteus, William, i. 482; ii. 514; per- sonal estate of, 250 ; owns spinning- wheels, 469 ; buys a lot in Norfolk, 552.

Porto Rico, i. 64, 623.

Ports, Act for, ii. 555, 561.

Portugal, i. 43, 44, 49; ii. 513.

Portuguese, early map drawn by, i. 18 ;

625

in possession of the Cape of Good Hope, 22; servants, ii. 22, 54.

Pory, John, i. 297 ; his expedition to the Southwest, 38; representations by, as to condition of the tenants, 232; as Secretary of Council forwards flax to England', 239; ii. G9; his ref- erence to cow-keeper at Jamestown, 186.

Post-Office, ii. 240.

Potashes, i. 2G2.

Potato, i. 98, 194, 197, 251, 337 ; ii. 200.

Potomac, Creek, ii. 55(5 ; Indians, i. 140, 144 : River, 38, 83, 93, 103, 104, 105, 319, 387 ; scarcity of shipping in, 447 ; ii. 341, 346, 522, 524, 540, 544; Ar- goll's expedition to, 1613, 427.

Pott, Francis, i. 600 ; John, 574 ; ii. 45.

Potter, John de, ii. 311.

Poultry, i. 202 : ii. 199. See Chickens and Pullets.

Powder, ii. 193.

Powell, ii. 31.

Powhatan Confederacy, i. 140, 142, 144.

Powhatan, Falls of, i. 109; Newport's expedition to, 28, 29; distance of South Sea from, 30; country west of, 110. See Falls; also Powhatan River.

Powhatan, King, i. £0, 174: reports nearness of the South Sea, 30 : later denies it, 33: in communication with tribes in Southwest and Northeast, 34; his coronation, C8; league of friendship with the English, 38 ; his pillow made of leather, 147 ; his hos- pitality to the English visitors to Werowocomoco in 1609, 179, 180; Hamor's visit to, 180; his dress, 182 ; his wives, how they were dressed, 184; sends men to teach the English the proper manner of planting maize, 198 ; offers Newport a whole kingdom, 489.

Powhatan River, i. 56, 62, 63, 79, 91, 100, 102-105, 107, 129, 164, 165, 178, 198; metals in country along, 16 ; West seated at the Falls of, 18 ; route to the East Indies by way of the, 2,") ; the tribe near its mouth, 27 ; Newport's expedition to the Falls, 28; different routes to the South

VOL. II. — 2 S

Sea from the Powhatan, 32; the valley of, comparatively thickly in- habited by Indians, 72; fertility of its valley, 79; chestnut trees near Falls of, 93 ; marshes in the valley of, 110; oyster rocks in, 113; bed of, covered with shells at Wyanoke, 114; blackbirds and turkeys ob- served along, IK!; Indian tribes dwelling in valley of, 140, 144: an Indian field of maize in valley of, 153 ; Opechancanough's residence on the, 157 ; tribes on the, 185 : a very old Indian observed at Pamunkey on, 186 ; Jamestown founded on, 189 ; enormous trees growing in valley of, 19(); explored by Dale, 208; paling from Appomattox to, 210: lands re- served for public uses situated on northern side of, 228 ; settlements on, 263 ; presence of marl in valley of, 427 ; first division of lands along, 503; ii. 71, 524; saw-mills to be erected at the Falls of, 430. See James River.

Powhatan Tribe, i. 141. See Indians.

Preen, John, carries supplies to Colony in 1626, ii. 298.

Prescott, Edward, ii. 334, .343; Moses, 421.

Price, Daniel, i. 51 ; Jenkins, ii. 163 ; John, 320; Thomas, i. 481; Walter, ii. 439.

Prickett. See Pirket.

Princess Anne County, ii. 346.

Pring, Captain, i. 6.

Printing, preface, vii.

Pritchard, John, personal estate of, ii. 251, 439; Robert, 439; Mrs. Fran- cis, 194.

Privy Council, i. 348: protests against the exportation of tobacco to Hol- land, 266: receives letter from Gen- eral Assembly about Tobacco Con- tract, 282: petitioned by Sir George Yeardley, 283; seeks to enforce the law as to customs, 291 ; refers ques- tion of Yeardley's cattle to a com- mittee, 297 ; authorizes Assembly to appoint commissioners. 390 : refuses to allow a cessation, 392 ; informed of the lawless course of the ship

626

INDEX

Treasurer, ii. 68 ; addresses a letter to the City Comiianies about the Lottery, 277 ; requires a coutribu- tion by every member of the Com- pany towards the support of the colonists iu Virginia in 1(}23, 294; Captain Tucker protests to, against the continuation of the Dutch trade, 301 ; Governor Harvey recommends to, the establishment of a custom- house, 302 ; petitioned to enforce the payment of a debt due by Edmund Scarborough, 3-10; directs the Gov- ernment in Virginia to aid John Woodcock, 3G5 ; warned that the peo pie of Virginia would in a certain contingency manufacture their own clothing, 467 ; approves the recom- mendation of the commissioners in 1676 to continue the Cajjital at Jamestown, 546.

Processioning, i. 543.

Prodger, Edward, i. 510.

Protectorate, i. 354; ii. 30, 213, 343, 505.

Prout, Timothy, ii. 319.

Providence, ship, ii. 320.

Pryor tobacco, i. 436.

Pryor, William, i. 448 ; ii. 89, 152.

Puccoon, i. it9, 185, 261.

Pullets, ii. 206, 207, 210. See Chickens and Poultry.

Pumpkins, i. 98, 167, 195, 251 ; ii. 200.

Purchas, Samuel, i. 490.

Pyankitank River, i. 80, 104 ; Indian tribes dwelling in valley of, 140-144.

Pyle, Abraham, ii. 311.

Queen's Creek, ii. 83, 185, 213, 563.

Quince, i. 48, 331, 468.

Quirauk Mountains, i. 28.

Quit-rents, a condition of tenure, i. 556; payable to the Treasurer, 557, 558; Howard Horsey petitions for the Receiver-Generalship of, 559; continued source of ill feeling with planters, 5()0; payable in tobacco, 560; attempt to make it payable in coin, 562 : how disposed of, 563. See also Title of Land.

Quiyough, i. 83.

Quiyoughcohannock, i. 141.

Raccoons, i. 127, 181, 183.

Radford, ii. 425.

Radish, i. 251.

Raisins, i. 42.

Raleigh, Sir Walter, i. 14, 36; terms of his letters patent, 2; sends out Amadas and Barlow, 5; his enter- prise requires support of many ad- venturers, 12; lost colonists of, 17; his pamphlet on Dutch Trade, 57.

Randolph, MSS. preface, ix ; Henry, i. 377; ii. 534; William, 55, 558.

Ranson, Robert, his invoice of goods, ii. 385.

Rappahannock, County, preface, ix; prices of cattle in, i. 374; sheep in, 377 ; amount of tobacco i:)roduced in, in 1689, 456; ii. 36; value of slaves in, 92; runaway slaves in, 116: sil- verware owned by its citizens, 173 ; personal estates of citizens of, 249; value of land in, 253; trade of, with New York, 315; with Barbadoes, 327; English merchants trading in, 334; Indian marts in, 388; black- smiths owning lands in, 419; land owned by coopers in, 421 ; also car- penters, 423; ship-builders in, 4.39: owners. of mills in, 490; town build- ing in, 549, .5,53, 556 ; Indians, i. 178, 185; River, 38, 85, 156, 500; fish in, 112 ; Indian tribes dwelling in valley of, 140-144 ; Smith's visit to the, 1()4 ; scarcity of shipping in, 447 ; freight rates in the transportation of tobacco from, 450 ; first settlement north of, 492; ii. 80, 341-342, 346, 522, 524; a town to be built on, 540, 544.

Raspberry, i. 95, 165.

Ratcliffe, Edward, ii. 271; Emanuel, 324; President, i. 37.

Rats, i. 223; musk, 128.

Rattlesnakes, i. 129.

Read, Benjamin, owns property in England, ii. 247 ; Plantation, selected as the site for a town, 549.

Reade. Abraham, i. 353 ; George, 629 ; Henry, .598.

Reaphook, i. 464. See Hook.

Receivers, i. 443.

Recording of conveyances, i. 570, 571.

Recovery, ship, ii. 553.

627

Redbird,i. 119, 184.

Reedy Swamp, i. 431.

Reeves, i, 317, 415, 460.

Register, preface, ix; i. 327, 501, 528, 529, 617 ; ii. 500, 504.

Relye, Thomas, i. 441.

Reuters, i. 217. See Leases.

Residences, i. 323 ; fortified after mas- sacre, 274 ; ii. 134; wooden, 145 ; cost of building in Virginia, 150; the Great House, 151; a typical dwell- ing, 151, 152; partitions in, 157; surroundings of, 161 ; value of fur- niture in different rooms, 166 ; char- acter of furniture in the various apartments, 177; cost of, burnt by Bacon's soldiers at Jamestown, 546; English taste of immigrants par- ticularly observable in, .574.

Rewcastle, Henry, ii. 3.S.

Rhode Island, wool a standard of value in, ii. 521.

Rice, i. 260, 337, 467.

Rice, John, i. 448; William, ii. 419.

Richard the Second, i. 346.

Richards, i. 464; ii. 317, .333, 334.

Richardson, Judge, portrait of, ii. 174.

Richmond, County, poor of, ii. 257; City, i. 192.

Rigby, Peter, i. 541.

Rives, William Cabell, preface, xi.

Roanoke, i. 1, 2(), 47, 54, 88, 162, 167, 186; River, 511; Money, ii. 115, 520.

Robert, Benjamin, ii. 479; .John, 140.

Robins, Edward, i. 330; John, ii. 75.

Robinson, Conway, preface, ix; Chris- topher, ii. 92, 558; Henry, i. 603; William, ii. 552, 559.

Roby, Peter, i. 482.

Rochdale Hundred, i. 210.

Rogers, Alice, ii. 15; Mary, 123; Noah, 473; Samuel, i. 599; Professor Tho- rold, ii. 228.

Rolfe, John, i. 217 ; first to experiment in planting tobacco, 211, 212; refers to production of English grain in, 238; complainsof want of mechanics, 250 ; estimates the production to the man, 252; observes marl in the Pow- hatan Valley, 427; his reference to the Magazine, ii. 281; his experi-

ment -with tobacco, 566; Thomas, i.511.

Rolling houses, i. 306, 440.

Rome, i. 310.

Rose, i. 146.

Rose, ship, ii. 320.

Rosegill, ii. 156.

Rosemary, i. 332.

Rosin, i. 41, 46, 48.

Rossingham, i. 267, 297.

Rotterdam, ii. 307.

Rowland, Kate Mason, preface, x.

Rowsley, William, i. 135.

Rowzie, Edward, ii. 1, 2.

Royal African Company, ii. 77, 78, 80, 82, 84, 246.

Royal Oak, ship, i. 358.

Royall, Henry, ii. 196, 560.

Ruddle, Robert, ii. 334.

Ruthn, Edmund, i. 427.

Rum, ii. 33, 84, 215, 325.

Russell, Mr., his scheme for making wine from sassafras, ii. 212; John, i. 372.

Russia, i. 22, 41, 42, 16, 49, 69, 393.

Russia Company, Frobisher obtains a license from, i. 22 ; sends out two ves- sels to discover Northwest Passage, 24; interested in the discovery of the South Sea by Newport, 36 ; prin- cipal agent in suppljing England with naval stores, 42 : expends £80,000 in promoting its trade, 53; its character, 69 ; consults with Lord Culpeper about Russia as a tobacco market, 404.

Rutland County, i. 578.

Sack, ii. 215, 216, 231,263.

Saddles, ii. 239, 340.

Sadler, John, i. 412; ii. 328.

Saffin, John, ii.319, 320; Thomas, 479.

Sage, i. 332.

Sailors, 1. 444; number engaged in

Virginian carrying trade, in 1636,

311; English bottoms navigated by

Dutch, 358. See Seamen. Sakers, John, i. 334. Salisbury, Earl of, i. 15, 63, 129, 156,

208,592; ii. 268, 271. Salle', i. 625. Salley, Thomas, ii. 421.

628

INDEX

Salt, i. 167, 202; the attempt to pro- duce, in Itilt), ii. 483; manufacture of, stopped during time of Argoll, 484; sjjots selected for its manu- facture by John Pory in 1()21, 484; General Court adopts order for man- ufacture of, in 1630, 485; William Capps sent to Colony iu 1627 to try au experiment in the manufacture of bay salt, 485 ; Mr. Dawin rewarded for production of, 485 ; also Colonel Edmund Scarborough, 485, 486; large quantities imported, 486.

Sanderson, Edward, ii. 379.

San Domingo, ii. 58.

Sands, Thomas, ii. 347.

Sandy Point, ii. 345.

Sandys, Sir Edwin, suggests the ap- pointment of a committee, i. 235 ; proposition by, to import heifers into Virginia, 247 ; his comment on power of the king to divert all tobacco to Virginia, 268; moves for appoint- ment of a committee whose duty should be to obtain youths depend- ent upon the parish for shipment to Virginia, 593 : ii. 68, 428 ; calculates cost of iron works, 448; George, wishes to make a search for South Sea, i. 39; seeks to revive silk cul- ture after massacre of 1622, 242, 243 : also to promote culture of grape after the massacre, 246; explains the supremacy of tobacco as a prod- uct of Virginia, 255 ; denies intention of planters to withdraw to the East- ern Shore, 273 ; ii. 48, 147, 148 ; refers to effects of the high rate of wages in Virginia, 415; shipwrights com- mitted to care of, 428 ; writes to John Ferrer, 431 ; takes charge of glass works, 442 ; his opinion of the Ital- ian glass makers, 443; his account of the Falling Creek site for iron manufacture, 448.

Sargent, William, ii. 142.

Sassafras, i. 48, 92, 211, 235, 261.

Savory, i. 251

Savoy, Duke of. ii. 66.

Saw-mills, ii. 429, 431. See Mills.

Saws, i. 233.

Scarborough, Edmund, i. 358, 536,

609 ; owns an interest in a ship, 448 ; Surveyor-General of the Colony, 535 ; ii. 76, 340, 351 ; owns a uiaU-house, 213 ; has nine shoemakers iu his ser- vice, 476; rewarded for manufacture of salt, 485, 486; a representative man of the seventeenth century, 576 ; Henry, ii. 334 ; Littleton, i. 609 ; Ma- tilda, i. 609; ii. 76, 78; Tabitha, i. 609; ii. 76.

Schools, a free school established in Charles City County, ii. 403.

Schouldhoven, ii. 292.

Schut, Cornelius, ii. 311.

Scotch servants, i. (i09.

Scotland, i. 611 ; ii. 329.

Scott, Nicholas, i. 448 ; Robert, ii. 257.

Scrapes, William, ii. 309.

Seaborne, Isaac, ii. 439.

Seabrel, i. 376; owns bee-hives, ii. 201.

Seals, colonial, i. 549.

Seamen, wages of those sailing from West Indies, ii. 325 ; also of those en- gaged in Virginian trade, 347 ; unre- liability of, 348. See Sailors.

Seasoning, ii. 59; negroes not subject to, 107.

SeaM-ell, Henry, ii. 309.

Secretary of the Colony, i. 229.

Sedgwick, William, ii. 493.

Segar, Oliver, i. 421.

Senior, ii. 444.

Sergeant, Peter, ii. 320.

Servants, were not menials ; whites bound to service by indenture, or otherwise, for prescribed time, i. 573 ; term not confined to laborers, arti- sans, and mechanics, but included apprentices seeking knowledge of learned professions; example, 574; nor were they necessarily of humble origin, 574; in seventeeuth century, two powerful influences to increase the number of, in Colony, one iu England and the other in Virginia, 575; what they were : first, the con- dition in England of the poor and laboring population, 576-584; and second, the advantages of Virginia and the demand for labor there, 584-587 ; until 161(i, belonged to the Company ; arrivals at different

629

dates; none set free until the departure of Dale, then this privi- lege granted by Yeardley to a few, 587; Argoll granted it to some, but made them pay an extraordinary price, 588; exact chai'acter of in- deutui-es before Yeardley not ascer- tained, but no doubt contained the ordinary English covenants ; jjrivate persons and Hundreds imported ser- vants in 1(519,588; many introduced, 588, 589; in 1619, the Company, in order to promote the culture of other products than tobacco, offered to pay for these products in, 589; criminals and dissolute persons of both sexes going over as, 589 ; at first all persons sent to Colony were to be of good character, 590; in 1609 the Company rejected the offers of the Privy Council, 590-592; the Privy Council, Mayor of Lon- don, the King and Dale in favor of relaxing the policy in regard to character of jjersons sent out as, 592, 593; in 1619 a number of youths were sent over, 593 ; what the Company bound itself to do for the youths sent to Colony by city of London, 594; charge for transpor- tation reduced, 594; cost, in 1621, of sending a boy to Colony, 595; introduction of young persons fa- vored, 595; in 1621, Company will- ing to accept poor men and women ; approved by Parliament; but this source of supply was small, 596; precautions of Company as to char- acter of emigrants, 597 ; crimes of the convicts sent over, 597- 599 ; contention between the Com- pany and the King about sending dissolute persons to Colony, 599; numbers and ages of, by census of 1621-1625, 600, 601 ; even after disso- lution of Company, public officers op- posed to introduction of criminals, illustration, 601 ; criminals intro- duced after dissoluti(m,were bi-ought over by merchants and others as (U-- dinary servants, instances, 602 ; dis- position of English authorities to

send criminals to "Virginia arose from the severity of English peual code, 603, (iOi; extenuating circum- stances and small offences, 604; after Restoration, number of crimi- nals among, greater, ()04, 605 ; Crom- well's banislied soldiers compelled to act as, and rebelled, 605; iu 1667, earnest opposition to "jail-birds"; General Court in 1670 prohibited introduction of English felons, 605; English authorities confirmed ac- tion of General Court, 606; proc- lamation of General Court, how enforced, 606, 607 ; opposition to con- victs; gratitude to Arlington, 607; in 1682j Commissioners of Trade and Plantations required security of transported felons; its effect, ()07; larger number of those imported, after having been guilty of offences iu England, had only taken part in rebellious movements, instances, 608, 609 ; number of Irish and Scotch, 609; whole number in 1671, six thousand, and not many political offenders among them, 610 ; in 1678, Scotch rebels shipped to America, 611; in 1685, English rebels sent to Virginia, 611 ; pref- erence for youths continued after Company dissolved, and tlie de- mand during the rest of the cen- tury, 612; how their youthfulness revealed, 612, 613; obtained in Lon- don and Bristol by felonious means, instances, 613, 614; legal proceed- ings against shipmasters and others on account of persons inveigled on boai'd vessels, example, 614; spirit- ing away, 615; in 1664, Committee for Foreign Plantations had to inter- pose, 616 ; in 1664, English merchants took an active part against spiriting away, ()16 ; what the Committee who had charge of Colony did : a Register appointed, his duties and powers, ()17, 618; not entirely effective, 618; in 1670, other strict measures were adopted, 618; severe Act of Parlia- ment did not stop spiriting away; ten years later, 10,000 persons were

630

annually spirited from the kingdom, 618 ; Order of Council in 1682 ; wbat it required ; bow it was violated, 618 ; confirmed and republished by the Commissioners of Trade and Plan- tations, 619; not all obtained by unlawful and foul methods; many supplied by agents of high character in London, Bristol, Weymouth, Dart- mouth, Hull, Biddeford, Barnsta- ple, and Southampton; what they did, 620; however procured, were shipped as mere merchandise and to be exchanged for tobacco, 620; desired by shippers from England, as they helped to pay expenses of outward voyage and were in such demand in Colony, 622 ; demand for them well sustained by necessity for them, 623 ; servants subject to priva- tion and hardship, on outward voy- age, and exposed to pestilence; crowded and poorly fed, 625; epi- demic of 1622 ; instructions to Yeard- ley and directions to Governor and Council ; presentment and punish- ment of owners and masters of ves- sels, 626 ; West's report, C>26 ; in W41, Berkeley instructed to enforce the rules which provided for the poorest on shipboard wholesome victuals and ample quarters, 627 ; the same statu- tory care for the most indigeut ser- vants shown at a later day, 627 ; on outward passage often treated bar- barously, example, 627, 628 ; charges for conveying them to Virginia sub- stantially the same throughout sev- enteenth century ; figures given, 620 ; cost of transporting; Bullock de- clares that the expense of living until vessel sailed had to be added, 630 ; articles to be furnished accord- ing to indentures, 630; taxed by Assembly on arriving at Old Point ; afterwards more heavily taxed if of alien birth, 631 ; penalties against forestalling the market did not apply to them, 631 ; when they gave own- ers of vessels the right to dispose of their labor to pay for their passage frequently the charge was advanced,

and often gross extortion was prac- tised, which, though complained of, was never remedied, 631 ; the Statute of 1612 required masters of vessels not to sell any goods until they ar- rived at Jamestown and had been there twenty-four hours; this Act was repealed and did not include Eastern Shore or York River; ser- vants to be landed along with ordi- nary merchandise, 632 ; in assigning them to the planters, the terms of their indentures had to be followed ; if no indentures, they could be sold only for the period laid down by the custom of Virginia, 633 ; where they were landed ; how disposed of when they were consigned under indent- ure to planters named in bills of lading and in other cases, 633; not allowed to break their indentures by binding themselves to a second party; compelled to serve both the agreed terms in succession, 634; the indenture, its provisions, ii. 1; the custom when there were no indentures, 3, 4 ; all servants, alien or English, placed on the same footing, 4; the rights which they could claim, 5; food, 6; clothing, 8 ; protection afforded them by law in case of bad treatment, 10-13 ; their moral improvement, 14; duties of women servants, 15; character of servants' work, 13, 16 ; offence of running away and its punishment, 10-29; conspiracies, 29, 31 ; resist- ance to masters, 31 ; murders by, 32; stealing, 33; sexual relations, 34-37 ; bastards by negroes, 37 ; secret marriages, 37; funerals, 38; status in citizenship, 39; rights on expiration of term, 40-44 ; appren- tices, 41-43; prosperity of; after close of term, 44-46; members of Assembly, 44 ; overseers, 47 ; how wages of, could be invested, 50; op- portunities open to women imported from England, 51 ; persons con- demned to service for stealing, 51 ; value in money sterling of, 51, 52 ; negro servants, 52; Turkish, 54;

631

Algerian, 54; Indian, 54-56; wliere landed under Act of Cohabitation, 1680, 549; character of indented service, 369, 570.

Sewell, Katharine, ii. 53.

Sharpe, Robert, ii. 152 ; Samuel, 41 ; Thomas, i. 429.

Sheep, the first introduced, i. 202; number in Colony in 1627, 298; number in 1649, 336; few at first in Colony, 376; not until 1690 did they become numerous in Virginia, 481; owners of, about 1690, 482; number diminished by wolves, 483; no effort made to protect them in winter, 484 ; price of wool, 484, 485 ; no sheep in aboriginal Virginia, ii. 460.

Sheepshead, i. 112.

Sheers, William, ii. 328.

Sheffield, i. 582.

Shenandoah Valley, i. 125.

Shepherd, Captain, ii. 436.

Sheppard, John, ii. 311; Robert, 95; Thomas, i. 522.

Sheriffs, i. 548.

Sherry, ii. 216-231.

Sherry, John, ii. 346.

Sherwood, ii. 553.

Shingles, ii. 159.

Ships, i. 51, 445, 446; colonization of Virginia expected to increase the number of English, 8, 56; fine tim- ber in Vii'ginia for building, 85; those sailing in convoy in Novem- ber, 1689, 385 ; the time of their leav- ing England, 622; the route of, to Virginia, 623, 624 ; time taken in pass- ing from England to Virginia, 624 ; discomfort of voyage to Virginia, 625-627 ; charges for ocean passage, 629; furnished with cannon, ii. 345, 346 ; when first built in Virginia, 426; ship built at Point Comfort, 1613, 427 ; barks, pinnaces, and row- boats numerous in 1650, 432; ex- emption allowed to ship owners residing in Virginia, 4.33, 434; own- ers of, if Virginians, relieved of all duties except those of clearing, 436.

Ship-building, ii. 426-439; cost of cer- tain parts of a sloop, 417 ; wrights, 426.

Shiplagh, Nicholas, ii. 317.

Shippey, Thomas, furniture in his house, ii. 181.

Shirley, Hundred, i. 216, 217, 271; Island, 305, 319.

Shirts, ii. 190.

Shoes, ii. 193, 340, 343, 3(J0, 375, 376.

Shoemakers, ii. 401 ; not among arti- ficers imported in 1()09, 474; adver- tised for by Company in 1611,475; Samuel Mathews employed eight, 476; number of, held as servants by leading planters, 476, 477; im- ported from England, 477 ; contracts between planters and, 478 ; owners of landed property, 479 ; subject to strict statutory regulations, 479 ; the Act prohibiting exportation of hides intended to aid, 480.

Shovel, i. 200, 201, 233, 339.

Sibsey, John, i. 372; ii. 157, 250; Thomas, 173.

Sicily, i. 310.

Sickles, i. 237, 464.

Silk, i. 42, 51, 52, 91, 219, 241, 467; first essay in culture of, made in time of Smith, 240 ; King James' in- terest in, 240; every planter obliged to set out six mulberry trees, 241; copies of treatises on culture of, for- warded to Virginia, 241 ; silk-worm seed imported from Valencia, 242; massacre of 1622 puts an end to cul- ture of, 242 ; effort to revive, after massiicre, 243 ;• interest in culture of, revives in 1638, .328: culture of, ex- pected in 1649 to supersede tobacco, 338 ; marked progress in culture of, about 16.")4, 365 ; experiments of Ed- ward Digges in culture of, 365 ; in- terest felt in, by the Ferrers, 36(i, 367 ; rewards offered for production of, by the Assembly, 368, 369; ex- traordinary amount of attention paid to, about 16()1, 3{)6; rewards for culture of, 397 ; Berkeley sends the King a gift of, 399; number of mulberry trees planted by Major Thomas Walker in 1666, ."99; the Assembly revives the premium for silk-making, 400.

Silk-grass, i. 219, 234, 262, 467.

632

Silks, ii. 187, 194.

Silver. See Metals.

Silver Falcon, ship, ii. 284.

Silversmith, blacksmith sometimes performed the work of, ii. 418.

Silverware, ii. 170-174.

Simpson, Samuel, ii. 83; William, 474, 558.

Skilderman, Herman, ii. 474.

Skins. See Hides.

Slader, Mathew, his wager with a tailor, ii. 473.

Slaves, first introduction of, into Vir- ginia, i. 227 ; brought in by Captain Grey, 295; number in Virginia in 1649, 336; their relative numerical proportion to servants, 572, 573; ii. 56; advantages of, as compared with servants, 58 ; cheapness of their labor, 60; first landing of, 65; in- crease in number, 70; distribution of, in 1625, 72; number brought in by Captain Grey, 73 ; first charter- ing of Slave Company, 73 ; number imported by individual planters, 75 ; Royal African Company, 77; slave population, 77 ; number imported annually about 1679, 79; number brought in by New England ships, 81; slave-ships, 82, 83; the slave- ship Society lands negroes on the Eastern Shore, 85; African head rights in patent books, 1690, 85; native slaves, 88; values of, 88-93; duty on, 93 ; Christianizing, 93 ; bap- tism of, in Virginia, 95 ; first dispute as to ownership in, 98; regarded as personalty, 99; female, taxed, 103; taxation of, 100, 104; duties of, in the field, 104, 105 ; slave quarter, 106 ; clothing, 107 ; not permitted to hold property, 107; suicide among, 108; population of, in 1700, 108; sexual relations with whites, 109- 113; marriages among, 113; run- ning away, 113, 114; discontent among, 115 ; number at large about 1690, 117; certificate allowing, to leave master's plantation, 118; in- surrections among, 118 : murder and other crimes by, 119-121 ; emanci- pated, 122-125; required to be sent

out of country, 128 ; Indian, 129, 130 ; negroes imported from Barbadoes, 324, 325; the African, inferior in mechanical skill, 405 ; where landed under Cohabitation Act of 1680, 549; extension of tobacco culture strengthened African slavery, 572 ; influence of slavery in seventeenth century, 572, 573.

Smalridge, Elizabeth, i. 614.

Smith, Bryan, ii. 90; Edward, 606; Henry, i. 377; Humphrey, ii. 421; Jobni of Middlesex, 459, 558; John, of Nebley, 212 ; John, of New York, 316; Joseph, 474; Lawrence, i. 554; Nicholas, ii. 10 ; Peter, 552 ; Robert, i. 307, 377; Roger, 600; ii. 531; Thomas, 424; Samuel, i. 457; Wil- liam, ii. 473.

Smith, Captain John, his authority paramount before arrival of Dela- ware, i. 18 ; alone, of the prominent leaders, had a proper conception of the true wealth of Virginia, 20; condemns the search for the South Sea, 20; his principles for promoting the safety and prosperity of Virginia, 21; his suggestion to Henry Hudson, 25; his reports, ob- tained from the Indians, encourage the notion as to the nearness to Vir- ginia of the South Sea, 29 ; a defence of his character, GO, 31 ; visits Pow- hatan, 33 ; deprecates expedition into Monacan country, 37 ; believes that Colony should be placed on a foot- ing of permanency before any at- tempt to make use of its natural products in supplying wants of Eng- land, 50, 51 ; his description of Vir- ginia, 74, 75 ; his account of Virginia soil, 79, 80 ; Indian captured by, 85 ; account of Virginia wgods, 86; his impression as to excellence of Virginia timber, 87; remarks on presence of the gooseberry in Vir- ginia, 96; asserted that the droi>- ping of leaves turned the grass into weeds, 100; his first voyage in the Chesapeake, 107; his reference to marshes of Virginia, 109, 110; his visit to Werowocomoco in 1608, 111;

INDEX

633

observes schools of fish in the Ches- apeake, 111, 112; wounded by a stingray, 113; kills wild fowl, 115; observes no dangerous reptiles in Virginia, 129; linds Werowocomoco frozen hall a mile from either shore, lol ; calculates numbers of Indians in aboriginal Virginia, 140-144 ; houses at Kecoughtan when visited by, 145 ; declares that each Indian household knew its own fields, 149; his refer- ence to number of ears on a stalk of Indian corn, 152; his expedition up the Chickahominy, 156; returns to Jamestown with seven hogsheads of maize, 158; his experience with Indian conjurers, 159, 160; observes enormous pipes in possession of the Susquehannocks, 163 ; visit to the Rappahannock in 1608, 164; enter- tained by Indian women at Wei"o- wocomoco in 1608, 174; his visit to Opechancanough, 179 ; his visit to King Powhatan, 180; stops at Ke- coughtan and is feasted by Indians, 181 ; measures the calf of the leg of a Susquehannock warrior, 185; his Indian guide on the Potomac, 186; description of site of James- town, 190; says that no thought was given to tobacco at first, 195; superintends cutters of clapboards, 197; makes first successful attempt to plant Indian corn, 198, 199; no plough at work previous to his de- parture, 200; Dale compared with, 220; manufacture of wine during administration of, 243 ; his answers to the Royal Commissioners about tobacco, 255; induces Powhatan to grant lands to Captain West at the Falls, 489; character of servants before his departure, 588; ii. 6; his list of articles to be brought over by the emigrant, 186 ; refers to Lon- don tradesmen, 2()7 ; maize planted by, gathered, 269; only one carpen- ter in Colony when he withdrew, 401 ; manufacture of glass in time of his administration, 440, 441 ; calls at- tention to the adaptability of A^ir- ginia to iron manufacture, 415; also

of pipe staves and clapboards, 492; supervises the erection of James- town, 526; size of Jamestown when he left the Colony, 527.

Smith's Fort, selected as the site for a town, ii. 548; Hundred, i. 505, 533, 587 ; Isles, i. 112.

Smithy, John, i. 609.

Smuggling on Eastern Shore, ii. 329. See Navigation Acts.

Smyth, John, ii. 84, 146, 174, 246.

Smyth, Sir Thomas, i. 225, 277, 592; Governor of the East India Com- pany, 69; ships in Virginia during his administration, ii. 427, 430.

Snagle, Henry, ii. 421.

Snakes, i. 129.

Snipe, i. 115.

Snow, i. 131.

Snow-bird, i. 119.

Soap ashes, i. 17, 41, 45, 46, 49, 50.

Society, ship, ii. 91.

Somers, Sir George, i. 129, 136, 202, 624; ii. 269.

Somers Isles, James I. restricts amount of tobacco to be exported from Vir- ginia and, 264; ship tobacco to Hol- land, i. 267 ; right to bring tobacco into English ports reserved to Vir- ginia and, 277 ; its tobacco to be conveyed to London alone, 277, 279; Amis contract for tobacco of, 284; Richard Norwood makes a survey of, 533; ii. 65; amount expended in plantation of Virginia and, 293; a frigate belonging to, 427 ; Company, i. 69, 265, 599.

Sora, i. 116.

South America, trade with Virginia, ii.329.

South Sea, i. 9-11; the desire to dis- cover a northwest passage to, 21, 22; the search for it, 22-24; the London Company justified in boil- ing that a route to, could be found through Virginia, 25-27 ; Newport 's first expedition to the Falls de- signed for the discovei-y of, 28; reports among Indians as to, 29- .".4; Newport's expedition into the Monacan country for tlie discovery of, 35-37; Smith opposes expcdi-

634

INDEX

tion, 38 ; the hope of finding a route to the, lingers long in England, 38, 39; Governor Berkeley in 1670 attempts to find a passage to, through Virginia, 40.

Southampton, Administration, ii. 448; Hundred, i. 507; ii. 446, 448; River, i. 204, 305, 421.

Southampton, England,!. 620; ii. 297.

Southampton, Lord, ii. 358 ; contrib- utes to expense of forwarding ship- wrights to Virginia, 428.

Spades, i. 200, 201, 233, 339, 463.

Spain, i. 42-44, 47, 49, 51, 55, 93, 219, 241, 244; ii. 513.

Spaniards, i. 13, 48, 61-66, 186, 196 ; ii. 57.

Spanish, Main, i. 13, 88, 623 ; ii. 64, 66, 69; Money, ii. 502, 514, 515; To- bacco, i. 267, 281, 293, 294, 303, 325, 363, 365.

Sparks, ii. 151, 160.

Speke, i. 72.

Spelman, Henry, i. 102, 140, 152; re- fers to variety of birds in Virginia, 123 ; describes Indian manner of eating, 174.

Spencer, Mrs. Elizabeth, ii. 110; George, gift to the poor, 257 ; Rob- ert, 140 : William, i. 213, 227.

Spencer, Nicholas, i. 575; refers to the soils on the banks of the Po- tomac, 84 ; also to the freezing over of the Potomac, 131 ; writes to Lord Coventry about the deplorable con- dition of the Virginia people in 1681, 402 ; comments on the content- ment of the Virginians in 1684, 407; owns property in England, ii. 247; ascribes failure of town building to number of towns projected, 554; deprecates attempt to build too many towns, 5.")5.

Spices, i. 42, 51, 339; ii. 274, 296.

Spillman, Thomas, ii. 15.

Spinners, i. 54.

Spirits, ii. See Wines.

Spiriting away, i. 613-616.

Spitalfields, i. 240.

Spoons, i. 339. See Silverware.

Spotswood, Governor, i. 40, 431 ; ii. 62, 143.

Spratt, Henry, ii. 328; his silverware, 173 ; his wool cards, 469 ; owns mills, 488; buys a lot in Norfolk town, 552.

Springs, i. 102, 103. 146 ; ii. 161.

Squirrels, i. 127, 181, 183.

Stafford County, i. 412 ; Indian marts in, ii. 388; town building in, 549, 556, 559.

Stafford, William, i. 334; ii. 247.

Stainesmore, Nathan, ii. 334.

Stanard, William G., i. 253.

Stanley, H. M., i. 72.

Starke, Richard, his silverware, ii. 172.

Starkey, Peter, i. 414 ; Richard, ii. 334.

Starr, ship, i. 90.

Starrman, Cornelius, ii. 309.

State House, ii, 403; erected at James- town, 534; rebuilt after the burning of Jamestown, 547.

Steel, i. 42.

Steers, i. 224; value of, about 1688, 481. See Cattle.

Stegge, Thomas, i. 335, 448; ii. 322, 366, 380.

Stennick, Cornelius, ii. 311.

Stephens, Richard, ii. 9.

Stepney, Parish of, i. 424.

Stevens, Richard, ii. 531 ; Robert, 152,

Stickweed, i. 167.

Stingray, i. 113.

Stith, John, i. 546.

Stockholder, Edward, 1. 500.

Stockings, ii. liiO, 193.

Stockton, Commodore, i. 82.

Stonam, Henry, ii. 473.

Stone, Captain, i. 311; ii. 324; James, i. 338 ; John, ii. 553.

Stoodeley, Daniel, ii. 334.

Stores, size of, ii. 381 ; enumeration of contents in special instances, 382-385.

Storm, the great, of 1667, i. 395, 396.

Strachey, William, i. 18, 84, 88, 113, 121, 122, 143; gives reasons for col- onization of Virginia, 10 ; his calcu- lation as to number of Indians in aboriginal Virginia, 142-144 ; de- scribes Kecoughtan Indians as ad- mirable husbandmen, 156 : describes apparel of an Indian princess, 182 ; his account of the tobacco of the Indians, 212.

INDEX

635

Stratton, ii. 106, 153; Anthony, 334: Edwin, 558; John, i. 330; Thomas, ii. IWi.

Strawberries, 1. 97, 165.

Stribling, Christopher, ii. 439.

Stringer, John, a weaver, ii. 470.

Strowder, William, ii. 420.

Studley, Thomas, ii. 2()3.

Sturgeon, i. 112, 262.

Stuyvesant, i. 351, 369; ii. 78, 310, 314, 315, 324.

St. Albans, Earl of, i. 567.

St. Christopher, i. 321.

St. John's River, i. 61.

St. Katharine's, i. 614.

St. Valencia, 1.242.

Suez Canal, i. 41.

Sucrar, i. 84, 93, 251, .325, 339; ii. 33, 328, 357.

Sugar, maple, i. 93.

Sumac, i. 262.

Sunflower, i. 146, 165.

Surry County, preface, ix ; sheep own- ers in, i. 377 ; ii. 126 ; value of slaves in, 90; brick houses in, 140; to- bacco of, to be transported to James- town, 542 : town building in, 548, 556.

Surveyors, appointed by Act of 1662 ; duties and powers ; what vestries and wardens of a church parish could do, i. 419 ; in 1616, sent over to draw map of lands to be dis- tributed among adventurers accord- ing to plan agreed upon ; map-mak- ers in Colouy before this: ArgoU probably brought over one; nego- tiations with Norwood failed and Claiborne employed ; his compensa- tion and duties, .5.33, 534 : surveyor- general created after abolition of Company; appointed in England and Governor prohibited from ap- pointing him ; his duties, 534 ; pow- ers of surveyor-general conferred upon William and Mary College; the college trustees in 1692 ap- pointed Miles Cary; surveyors to pay college one-sixth of their fee's and to make to it an annual report, 534, 535 ; in 1690, Governor and Council petitioned Board of Trade that surveyor-general reside in Col-

ony, 535 : how appointed in different periods of seventeenth century ; form a society; men of high posi- tion, 536 ; how the surveyor pro- ceeded when one wished to sue out a patent; lands on streams mostly taken and streams used as bases, 537 ; next survey on same streams, 538; gross defects in first surveys; compass at that time untrustworthy and surveyors negligent; instances, 539: in 1623-24 diiferences as to boundaries: legislation to settle them; resurveys; improvements on another's land, 540, 541 ; resurveys under processioning law, 544 ; great differences in them and in their work ; some drew plats without having any instrument, and sold them ; Assembly compelled to inter- pose, .546, 547: in 166(i, Assembly doubled their fees to induce better men to become surveyors; other pro\isions, 547, 548 ; regulations regarding, under Cohabitation Act of 1680, ii. 549.

Susan, ship, ii. 281.

Susquehannock Indians, i. 163, 185.

Sussex, England, i. 428.

Swain, Arthur, i. 2()5; ii. 301.

Swan, i. 182.

Swan, ship, ii. 70.

Swann, Thomas, i. 53(5 ; buys a house at Jamestown, ii. 534.

Swansy, Edward, ii. 470.

Sweden, i. 42, 393.

Sweet, Robert, ii. 109.

Sweet-scented tobacco, i. 435-438, 441.

Tables, ii. 167 ; linen for, ii. 167, 168.

Tacitus, i. 71.

Taillor, John, ii. 334.

Tailors, 1.217 ; indebtedness of, ii. 471 ; charges and wages, 472, 473 ; social status of, 473; in possession of con- siderable property, 473, 474.

Talbott, John, ii. 141.

Talford, John, i. 602.

Tanners, i. 217; ii. 401, 406; not in- cluded in list of artificers in 1609, 474; advertised for, by Company, in 1611,475; Samuel Mathews owns a

636

INDEX

tannery, 476; an important class in Colony after abolition of Company, 476; in possession of considerable property, 478; methods followed in tanning, 479; Act interdicting ex- portation of hides from Virginia, partly for the purpose of promoting interest of tanners and curriers, 480.

Tapestry, ii. 166.

Tappahannock, on the Powhatan, ii. 530.

Taquetock, the Indian autumn, i. 177.

Tar, i. 17, 41, 46, 49, 50, 89, 26*2, 393; ii. 325; produced in time of Com- pany, 493; barrels of, enumerated in inventories of estates in Lower Norfork County, 494; samples of, shipped to England, 494.

Tarleton, Stephen, ii. 49.

Tassore, i. 198.

Tatnall, Captain, i. 451.

Taverns, ii! 204, 220, 225. See Inns and Innkeepers.

Taxation, i. 388; tax on horses, 376; the duty of two shillings on tobacco, 386; duty on slaves, ii. 93; negro slaves regarded as personalty in taxation, 99, 100, 104; fort duties, 349-353 ; duties on skins, 483 ; duty of two pence on hogsheads exported, 500. See Duties.

Taylor, John, i. 154; ii. 334; Philip, 334; William, 81,470.

Tazewell, Governor, i. 538.

Temperance, ship, ii. 338.

Tenants, i. 213, 214, 594; imported into Colony, 230; terms of agreement with, 230, 231; their condition after the massacre, 273; damage com- mitted by, 418.

Tenure in fee simple, i. 221, 227.

Terra sigillata, i. 47, 48, 185.

Thacker, Edwin and John, ii. 558.

Thames, i. 612.

Thatcher, John, ii. .323.

Thomas, Edwin, ii. 326; John, i. 380, 381, 465 ; ii. 163, .327 ; Philip, 472.

Thomas and Ann, ship, ii. 339.

Thomas and Edward, ship, i. 449.

Thompson, John, ii. 317; Mathew, 559; Thomas, 474; William, i. 418.

Thoroughgood, Adam, i. 4S2; number

of goats owned by, 299 ; owns cow- keepers, 299 ; cattle owned by, 372 ; number of his horses, 375; number of his sheep, 377, 482 ; came to Col- ony as a servant, 574 ; his residence, ii. 1.j7; his land patents, 252; a rep- resentative man of the seventeenth century, 576.

Thorpe, George, ii. 212; Katharine, 514.

Throckmorton, John, i. 598.

Thunder, i. 131, 132.

Thyme, i. 251, 332.

Timber, i. 45, 85.

Tithables, ii. 40; slave, 100, 101, 104.

Title to land, all the soil of Virginia vested in the King, who granted it to the Loudon Company; rights of the Indians not acknowledged ex- cept ill very qualified manner, i. 487- 490; Governor and Council in Vir- ginia derived all their authority to grant land from the Company, in a quarter court, and documents con- veying land had to be sent to Lon- don and be approved at a quarter court, composed of all the members or their representatives, 500, 501 ; during the existence of the Com- pany, who held the soil in free and common socage, the power to con- vey an interest in it was, by charter of 1606, in the Council, and by that of l(i09, in the Treasurer, Council, and Association of Adventurers in England — their powers, 500-501 ; how a grant of land was actually and completely made in Virginia, 502 ; grounds upon which it could be made ; bills of adventure ; foi-m given, 502 ; dividends expected, 503 ; first one was to have been in 1616, 503; Argoll's interference, 503, 504; the great sub-patents, with two ex- ceptions, not granted until l(>18,why, 506 ; sub-patents obtained by private societies; the earliest, Martin's and Smith's Hundreds; associations al- lowed to engross enormous bodies of land, how, 505 ; not favored by the Company, 506; after dissolution of Company these associations broke

INDEX

637

down, 507 ; lands belonging to some associations transferred without re- gard to their ownersliip, and these new patentees were protected by special instructions from English Government, in 1G39-I(i-H ; case of Southampton Hundred, 507; Mar- tin's and Barclay's Hundreds, 508; second ground for grant of land meritorious services, by clergy, offi- cers, physicians, and others, 508; Delaware, in KJIO, received authority to recompense services by bills of adventure ; cases of Newport, Dale, and Captain of Royal James, 509; grants for services liable to abuse and guarded against by the Com- pany, 509 ; but they continued after their dissolution, instances, 509, 510 ; grants for services on the frontiers, instances, 510, 511 ; also for manual services by tenants and servants, instances, 511 ; claim set up by some shareholders that the cost of emigrants sent by them, who died, or were lost at sea, should be borne by the Company and paid in land, brushed aside, 512, 513; by orders and constitutions of 1618, every planter who liad come to the Colony before or during Dale's ad- ministration entitled to 100 acres ; this allowed as late as 1635, 512; third ground, the head right ; in operation in 1618, and became principal basis of title ; what it was, 512-514; right to 50 acres by the head right not confined to shareholders ; wise law and why, 514; uneasiness of colonists as to titles after dissolution of Company ; Yeardley's mission to England in 1625, 514 ; instructions in 1639 to Wyatt, and to Berlveley in 1641, in favor of head right, 515, 516; forms of land patent immediately after dissolution of Company, 515, 517; head right, in 1651, reserved in surrender to Parliament and pro- tected by Act of Parliament, and after Eestoration repeatedly con- firmed by instructions to Governors

of Virginia, 516 ; head right not so inexpensive, why ; figures given, 517; abused and evaded, instances; yet in conformity with the letter of the law; frauds of ship-masters, 518, 519 ; of sailors, 519-521 ; many patents to sea-faring men, 521; per- versions of the head right (tarried so far that the clerks of Secretary of the Colony granted patents to all who would pay from one to five shillings, 524 ; these abuses crept in by general consent, the reasons, 524-526 ; by code of 170(i, the power of purchasing public lands with coin or tobacco was given, and the price for each fifty acres fixed at five shillings, 526 ; how obtained during existence of Company recapitulated, and how obtained after abolition of Company descriljed, 526, ">27 ; for a long period no limit to tlie area one individual could acquire; at first plantations small ; how and why enlarged and many owned by one person ; protest of Governor and Council unheeded; cases given of sizes of tracts, 527-530 ; in l(i23-1624 differences as to boundaries; legis- lation to settle them ; where im- provements had been made on land belonging to another ; i-esurveys, 540, 541 ; law of processioning to quiet titles, but did not always do so, examples, 543-545; after patent obtained, two important conditions in order to perfect a title, what they were, 553-558; might be suspended for special reasons, 554; a large area of soil lapsed to the King because provision as to "seating" in three years had not been complied with ; to what this applied, 564; issue of second patents was encouraged, 565 ; when one seized of laud in fee simple died without heirs and intes- tate, his lands reverted to tlie King; who could now get them and liow, 5()5; escheator and what he did, 565,566; laxness still prevailed, 566; fine of composition, 566; titles in- volved in great confusion ; how this

638

was revealed in a strikins; light, 566, 567 ; in the Northern Neck at first several proprietaries, with large powers and privileges ; afterwards one proprietary, who had an agent who could delegate his powers ; quit- rents payable in coin or tobacco ; forfeiture, 567-569 ; head right not basis of tenure in Northern Neck ; there a system of purchase ; scale of prices, 569 ; single ownership of enor- mous tracts of land, 569 ; larger quan- tity abandoned there than in other parts of Colony, 570; deeds recorded from an early period ; how acknowl- edged before estate could pass in later times ; object, 571 ; ii. 573, 574. Tobacco, whether indigenous or not, i. 160; regarded by Indians as a spe- cial gift from Great Spirit and used by their medicine men and conjur- ers, 160, 161 ; how used by warriors and how cultivated, 162 ; cultivation commenced by Rolfe in 1612, 210, 211 ; four years after his experiment one of the staple crops, and of su- perior quality, 217 ; grown in streets of Jamestown, 222; how handled, 252 ; inspected, 254 ; the finest " long sort " ; the only kind not prohibited ; knowledge as to how to handle it, 303 ; inspection law in 1619 ; lowest grades destroyed, 303; quality im- proved by legal regulations, 308; proclamation in 1631 ; increasing quantity imported secretly from the Brazils and Spanish Provinces in America because of demand for the highest grades, 308 ; principal crop of Maryland also ; its cultivation in Virginia interfered with because the two Colonies were under differ- ent administrations, 318, 319; labor of one man would insure from £20 to £25 sterling at three pence a pound, 337 ; Bullock's hypothetical instance of a new planter, 342; tendency of planters to run ahead of demand in England, and they lacked a market for the surplus, 345 ; in 1624 introduction of, into England in foreign bottoms pro-

hibited by proclamation, 348 ; taxed 10s. a hogshead in deference to Navi- gation Act, when ; also 2s. on every hogshead exported from Colony, without regard to nationality of owner or point of destination, 353 ; Dutch made a profit on, at three cents a pound ; the removal of their competition reduced its value, and by 1657 they were led to i^roduce it in their own territory, 355; in 1672, one penny a pound imposed upon a shipment from Colony to Colony; reshipping, 359 ; inferior to Spanish, yet more popular in England and Holland, 361; to be imported only into England or English dominions, but legal provisions evaded and how, 357, 362 ; raised in England and sometimes sold for Spanish, 363 ; its cultivation in England pro- hibited under James I., Charles I., Cromwell, and Charles II. to protect revenue, 363 ; size of casks pre- scribed by law ; complaints of ship- masters, yet they mutilated hogs- heads and damaged tobacco, 383 ; gross weight of full cask about 475 pounds, but often more, 383 ; none to be planted after July 10th ; stringent regulations for improving its quality, 383, 384 ; shipped in 1665 to English towns ; number of vessels transport- ing it given, 384 ; in 1667, there were anchored in James River eighteen merchantmen loading with, 385 ; in 1662, petition from persons inVirginia and Maryland interested in tobacco trade to force vessels engaged in it to leave the two Colonies only in sum- mer; denied, and again refused, but substantially granted when war broke out between Holland and England, 385, 386; duty of two shil- lings a hogshead revived in 1662 ; its effects considered : how paid and secured ; only one duty in force after repeal of ten shillings tax, except the penny a pound upon tobacco con- veyed from Virginia to other Colo- nies, ."'86, .387 ; large quantities by 1672 shipped in bulk and the tax

639

fixed at the rate of two shillings for every 500 pounds loose, 387 ; from 1(J55 to l(i{)2, price so low that a petition was offered to Kint? and Council to command total ces- sation of its culture in Virginia and Maryland during 1(163; rejected and the like not to he repeated, hut this intemperate action was recalled, 389, 390; conference hetween Vir- ginia and Maryland ahout restrict- ing its culture in order to raise its price ; Virginians proposed to stop all planting after June 20th, hut Mary- landers would not consent, why, 390 ; similar plan proposed hefore, 391; in l()tJ4, Virginia and Maryland crop 50,000 hogsheads which amounted to £150,000 sterling, yet price so low that planters brought in debt £50,000 sterling ; complaint of Governor and Council against Maryland, 391 ; sub- ject discussed, 392; crop of 16()6 enormous, and required 100 vessels to remove only a part to England, 394; in 16(17, crop curtailed by a memorable storm, but exports still large on account of surplus, 394: in 1666, a drug in the market ; As- sembly sent messengers to Mary- land to unite in stopping planting despite King's order : agreement made, in which Carolina joined, not to plant for one year; came to noth- ing, 394 ; between 1660 and 1(570 still depressed in value, and extraordina- ry attention given to other commodi- ties, 396: quantity in 1682 greatly reduced by rioters in Gloucester, New Kent, etc., and people in impov- erishment, 406 ; but by this reduction the prodigious crop of 1683 brought higher prices and vast relief; in 1684 Colony contented and peaceful, 407: crop of 1686 unusually large and yet remunerative, and in 1687 planters enjoyed peace and plenty, 409 ; curious scheme for improving it, 409, 410; granted to private citi- zens for keeping a highway in order, 419, 420 : in 1(570, annual allowance to Thomas Hunt of 1000 pounds

binding him to maintain a good road over Portau niilldam, 420: Kev. Mr. Clayton's advice to reclaim bogs and marshes for, instead of clear- ing more land followed with success, 432-434; grown on swampy land and elsewhere ; the sweet-scented, the Oronoco, the Pryor, 435, 436 ; Indians said to have had several varieties about 1685, unknown to colonial husbandry, 436; lands peculiarly adapted to the sweet- scented between the York and the James ; Digges' Neck in York County, 436; adaptability of North- ern Neck for fine grades of, 437 ; crops of Fitzhugh's, in l(i85- 1688 ; the Oronoco and sweet-scented described; how seeds and plants were treated and protected ; tall and attenuated stalks called " French- men," 438, 439 ; transplantation, tof}- ping, suckering, worming, cutting, and curing : pegs and sticks, 439-441 ; when cured, taken down, stripped, and assorted according to grade and vai-iety ; lowest grade called "lugs" as early as 1686; shipped both with and without stems, 441, 442 ; casks for, regulated by law ; weight increased, ranging from 500 to 1000 pounds ; the larger preferred, 442, 443 ; final disposition of, de- pended upon a variety of circum- stances, 443 : knavishness of re- ceivers, 443, 444 : what purchasers did, 444; casks propelled from be- hind, 444; in handling and shipping it, slaves, servants, and seamen all employed, 444 ; how shipped where the landings were not accessible and the streams shallow ; sloops employed to collect for ships, 445; channels of streams protected by law, 445; ships built for storing it; cargoes ranged from 200 to 600 casks, i.e. from 120,000 to .300,000 pounds, 446 ; shippers divided their casks between different vessels; wrecks and capture, 44(). 447; some seasons vessels insufficient. ■147: sometimes difficult to ol)taiii trans-

640

portation, and why, 447^49; freights fluctuate ; regulated by law ; bills of ladiug, 449-451 ; ship-masters preferred to ship it in mass, because it could then be smuggled, sold pri- vately, ancl^ade away with, 452, 453; evil effects of shipping in bulk, 453, 454; shipping it in bulk a very serious matter and fully considered ; Byrd's views, 454-456; quantity shipped from Virginia each year of last decade of seventeenth century; returns of collectors in eight established districts, figures given, 456 ; allowances to ship- masters, collectors, and auditors, 456; prices of, in closing years of seventeenth century; complaints of planters, 457 ; used to pay for the servants or laborers, who were to make it, 620 ; effect of tobacco cult- ure, ii. 61, 62; not subject to direct taxation, 104; price of, in 1625, 205; in 1676, 226; in 16S6, 243; in 1691, 247; the contracts for the annual crop of the Colony, 298 ; exported directly to merchants in England, 337-340: payment of mechanics in, injures their prosperity, 413 ; low price of, encourages local manufac- ture of clothing, 468 ; all salaries rated in, 500 ; sent to England, accompanied by bills of exchange, 517 : where to be sent for shipment abroad under Act of 1662, 542 ; con- trolling inffuence on economic his- tory of Virginia, 566. See Money.

Tortoises, i. 114, 179.

Townes, John, ii. 141.

Towns, existence of numerous stores depresses growth of, ii. 381 ; the plantation the real centre of the community, 522, 523 : causes dis- couraging growth of, 523-525 ; James- town the nearest approach to a town in Virginia in seventeenth century, 525 ; the character of earliest houses there, 52(;; in a state of decay at Delaware's arrival, 527; Sir Thomas Dale founds Henricopolis, 528; im- provements by Sir Thomas Gates at Jamestown , 529 ; Jamestown reduced

to a few buildings at time of Argoll's arrival, 530; Henrico in 1619 in a state of ruin, 530 ; private residences at Jamestown in time of Governor Wyatt, 531 ; rule adopted in 1623 that all towns in Virginia should be built in neighborhood of each other, 532; law against breaking bulk as relating to Jamestown, 532; Lords Commissioners in 1638, suspend the requirement that all ships should proceed to Jamestown, 533 ; General Assembly in 1638 grants a lot to every person settling at Jamestown, 534; Secretary Kemp liuilds a brick residence there, 534; State House erected at Jamestown, 534; Berkeley, in 1642, instructed to divide the site of Jamestown into lots for resi- dences, 535 ; the regulation establish- ing market days at Jamestown, repealed in 1655, 536 : suggestion for town building made by the author of Vivr/inia's Cure, 536 : the scheme im- practicable, 537 ; Berkeley, in 1662, commanded to induce the planters to erect a town upon every impor- tant river, 538 ; an Act passed in 1662 for erection of towns, 540; synopsis of terms of Act, 540-545; size of Jamestown in 1675, 545, 546 ; Jamestown burnt, 546 ; Culpeper in- structed to rebuild it, 546; Cohabi- tation Act of 1680, 547; terms of this Act, 547-552 ; steps taken under Cohabitation Act to lay off sites for towns in all the counties, 552; Jamestown derives no benefit from Cohabitation Act, .^53: the Act sus- pended, 554; causes for failure of policy of promoting town building, 554; the Act for Ports, 1691, 555; terms of this Act, 556, 5.57; promi- nent citizens take advantage of Act, 552, 558, 559 ; Nicholson attempts to defeat objects of the Act, 559; Act for Ports suspended, 559, 560; lots still granted by feoffees of the differ- ent towns in spite of the susjiension of the Act, 560, 561 ; size of James- town after its restoration, 5*)1 ; the capital removed to Middle Planta-

INDEX

641

tion, 562 : provisions for laying off a

town tliere, oGIJ-505. Townsend, Joseph, ii. 320; Richard, i.

574 ; ii. 45. Travers, John, ii. 473; Rebecca, 173;

William, 249, 385. Travillian, John, ii. 22. Treasurer, ship, ii. 67, 68, 69, 70, 72. Tree, Richard, ii. 422. Trevillian, Samuel, ii. 344, 345, 404. Treworgie, John, ii. 317. Trott, Perient, ii. 334. Trotter, John, ii. 416: Richard, 129,

257 ; Thomas, i. 542. Truelove, ship, ii. 295, 296. Trunks, ii. 165. Trunnels, ii. 493. Trussell, John, ii. 45. Tryal, ship, i. 248. Tuckahoe, i. 166. Tucker, William, i. 288, 533, 600; ii.

72, 95, .301, .373; John, i. 417. Turkey, i. 43, 48, 49, 79, 280, 286. Turkey Company, i. 24, 69. Turkeys, i. 116, 170, 172, 182, 183 ; ii.

205, 207, 211. Turks, i. 625 ; ii. 53. See Servants. Turpentine, i. 46, 48, 262. Twigg, William, ii. 334. Tyler, Daniel, i. 625; Henry, ii. 125:

Lyon G., preface, ix; i. 549. Tyndairs Point, proposition to build

capital at, ii. 546; selected as the

site for a town, 549. Tyrus, i. 51.

Underwood, James, ii. 319.

University, for education of Indians, i. 228. See College; East India Company ; and Indians.

Upton, Captain John, named the Gen- eral Master of the Mint, ii. 503.

Utensils, ii. 162, 175-177, 180-184.

Uttamussack, i. 148.

Valentine, George, ii. 479.

Van Bleck, Nicholas, ii. 311.

Varina, i. 423 : ii. 548.

Vassal, John, ii. 327.

Vaulx, James, ii. 248; Robert, 333, 370, 380; Mrs. Robert, i. 412.

Vause, Thomas, contract with Haw- thorne, ii. 404. 2 T

Vegetables, ii. 201.

Vehicles, ii. 238, 239.

Velasco, i. 60, 66; reports the feeling of disappointment among colonists, 20.

Veruey, Sir Edward, ii. 162, 245, 336.

Verplauck, Julian, ii. 316.

Vicenso, ii. 443.

Victoria, Australia, i. 13.

Vincent, William, ii. 237, 318.

Vine-dressers, i. 244, 302, 338.

Vines, i. 52. .■

Violet, i. 101.

Virginia, general reasons for its col- onization, i. 6-10; influence of . the hope of discovering gold upon colo- nization of, 10-14; search for the precious metals in, 14-21 ; the effect of the expectation of finding through, a route to the South Sea, 21-40; the anticipation that Vir- ginia would supply certain articles imported by England, 41, 43-45; Lane and Harlot's description of the natural products of, 47, 48; dis- appointment as to Virginia's ability to supply England with special arti- cles, 51, 52; colonization of, sup- posed to promote the woollen manu- factures of England, 54, on; also to increase British shipping, .56 ; to fur- nish a vent for surplus population of England, 58, 59 ; to check growth of Spanish power, 61 ; aboriginal condi- tion of, its soils, forests, fruits, fish, animals, and climate, 71-139; first exi>eriment with tobacco planting, 210, 211 ; settlements in, at time of Dale's departure, 216; number of horned cattle in 1616, 216; com- modities of, shipped to England in 1616, 218; first fee simple tenure in, 221; first legislative Assembly, 226; apportionments of lands in time of Company, 229; conditions attached to grants in time of Yeardley, 234 ; a treasurer appointed for, 23(i : early cultivation of wheat in, 237, 238; effort to produce silk in, in time of Yeardley, 240-242: first efforts to produce wine in, 243; cotton culti- vated in, in 1620, 246; cattle in, in

642

1620, 247; cattle imported into, from Ireland, 249, 250 ; how to- bacco shipped to England in 1G22, 253; reasons why tobacco culture took precedence from beginning, 254-257 ; amount of tobacco ex- ported from, in 1619, 1620, 1622, 262, 263; massacre of 1622 takes place, 270-272; epidemic in, after the massacre of 1622, 272 ; dissolu- tion of the Company in 1624, 276 ; tobacco contracts, 271-288; prices of tobacco from, in England, 294 ; cattle and their value in, in 1627, 296-298 ; exportation of wheat and corn from, in 1631, 310 : condition of, in 1649, 336-338 ; what articles emi- grants to, about 1649, carried out, 339, 340 ; passage of Navigation Acts and effect upon, 348-362 : silk cult- ure in, about 1654, 365-369; num- ber of horses in, about 1665, 374^ 376; prices of grain in, from 1666- 1682, 380; agitation in, for a cessa- tion of tobacco planting, 389-392 ; silk culture in, about 1<J65, 39U-400; Plant-Cutters' Rebellion, 404-406; its agricultural condition at end of century, 424; marsh land in, un- redeemed, 431-434 ; varieties of tobacco cultivated in, 434—441 ; ma- nipulation of tobacco in, 441 ; freight rates on tobacco shipped from, to England, 450 ; tobacco exported from, in bulk, 452^55 ; cultivation of ce- reals in, 459 : production of wheat in, 460^66; grape culture in, 470-472; horses, 472-476; number and prices of cattle in, about 1690, 477-481; sheep husbandry in, about 1690, 481-484 ; policy of Company towards the Indians of, 487-491 ; also the pol- icy of the General Assembly after dissolution of Company, 491-499; grounds upon which grants to land in were made, 502-512; the areas of these public grants of land, 528, 532 ; first surveyors in Colony, 532, 533; names of tirst surveyor-generals of, 535 ; conditions of tenure in, seating and payment of quit-rents, 553-564; extent of lapse land in, 564; es-

cheated lands, 565 ; system of land tenure in Northern Neck, 567-570; recording of conveyances, 570; es- tablishment of monthly courts, 571 ; influences at work in, to promote immigration of servants, 584-586; the extent to which criminals were imported into, in time of Company, 589-601 ; opposition to importation of criminals in 1667, 605-608; im- portation of political felons, 608- 612; boys supplied by city of Lon- don, 612, 613 ; servants brought into, as mere merchandise, 620, 621 ; rela- tive value of cloths in England and, ii. 188, 189; relative prices of food in England and, 208-210 ; wealth of the people in, in 1639 and 1667, 244, 245; surrender to Cromwell, 310; effect of Navigation Acts on people of, 312 ; trade of, M'ith New Nether- lands, 314, 315 ; with New York, 315, 316; with New England, 317-322; with Maryland, 322-324; with West Indies, 324; trade of, with England, 331 ; English merchants engaged in the trade with, 334 ; profits of trade with, 335-337 ; branches of trade rep- resented by English merchants send- ing goods to, 343; name " Virginia " often included West Indies, 344; Eng- lish Government furnishes ketch for protection of trade with, 346; en- grossing and forestalling in, 353- 364 ; debts contracted outside of the Colony, how enforced, 372; planters of, engaged in trade, 377-380; Eng- lish merchants own lands in, 380; Indian trade, 385-389; attempt to establish regular markets in, 389- 391 ; fails to supply England with articles exported from Russia, Sweden, Holland, France, Spain, and the East, 392; reasons why England discouraged growth of manufactures in, 393, 394, 396; classes of mechanics in, 399; wages of mechanics in, 415-417 ; excellence of timber in, for shipbuilding, 426; first ships built in, 427 ; no facilities in, for repaii-ing ships, 431, 432; Bris- tol merchants build ships in, 438;

643

manufacture of glass in, 441, 442; of iron, 444-454; of linen, 454^59; woollen cloth, 460-473 ; tailors resid- ing in, 471-i74; the tanners, cur- riers, and shoemakers of, 474-480; leather made in, 479; salt manu- factured ill, 483-486; pitch and tar, 493, 494; history of money in, in seventeenth century, 494-521 ; towns and town-building in, 522-565; moral and economic influences of the plan- tation system, 567, 568; the part played by the servants who had been freed, in the life of, 569, 570; influences of slavery on the history of, in seventeenth century, 572, 573 : system of land tenure well adapted to increase the population of, 573, 574; emigrants to, of the highest class, represented most refined ele- ments of the mother country, 574; abundance of manufactured and natural supplies in, 575 ; character of leading men in, in seventeenth century, 576; present condition of, compared with condition in seven- teenth century, 577-579.

Virginia Historical Society, preface, ix; ii. 449.

Virginian, ship, ii. 439.

Vis, Jacobus, ii. 316.

Volga, river, i. 26.

Wade, Thomas, ii. 141.

Wages, i. 578; ii. 7, 48-50, 347, 415-

417. Waggener, John, ii. 423. Wagstaffe, James, ii. 334. Wainscoting, i. 46. Wales, i. 248. Walke, Thomas, ii. 328. Walker, i. 606; ii. 88; Jacob, i. 469;

ii. 250, 439; George, 439: John, 52,

560; Nathaniel, 320, 321; Thomas,

i. 399. Walkinson, William, ii. 231. Wall, Ann, ii. Ill; James, 383. Wallop, John, owns looms, ii. 470. Walnut, i. 90; ii. 491, 492; oil, i. 48,

167, 262. Walsh, Thomas, ii. 334. Walsingham, Lord, i. 24.

Walton, England, ii. 247; John, ii.

323 ; Thomas, 316. Wampumpeke, used as money, ii. 520.

Ward, Richard, instructions of, by will, ii. 153; his silver plate, 171.

Warden, Thomas, ii. 327.

Ware, Nicholas, ii. 327.

Warming-pan, ii. 164.

Warnet, Thomas, his will, ii. 187, 531.

Warrasquoke, i. 306; ii. 71; Indians, i. 141 ; County, 319.

Warren, Thomas, owns a brick resi- dence, ii. 140, 344.

Warrenton, ii. 112.

Warwick, Earl of, i. 225; ii. 66-69; County, population of, i. 320 : marsh land in, 431 ; ordered to furnish men to build a fort at Point Comfort, ii. 417; town building in, 548, 556; Hannah, ii. 18; River, ii. 346; Ship, ii. 290, 293, 358; Shire, i. 579, 580.

Washington, John, personal estate of, ii. 251 ; George, 579.

Water flag, i. 99; ii. 454.

Watermelon, i. 98.

Watkins, George, i. 377 ; Thomas, 417 ; depositions relating to Mrs., ii. 112.

Watterson, John, ii. 474.

Watts, Stephen, ii. .341.

Waugh, John, i. 412; ii. 493.

Wayne, John, i. 542.

Weasel skins, i. 182.

Weavers, i. 54; ii. 470; each county required to liave, by law, 461 ; proj- ect to export, from France, 461.

Webbe, Captain, i. 217.

Weeds, i. 100.

Weights and measures, deceptions practised in, ii. 374.

Weeks, Abraham, ii. 552; John, 48.

Weir, i. 169.

Welch, Daniel, i. 545.

Weldon, Mrs., ii. 49.

Wells, Francis, ii. 334.

Werowocomoco, i. 80, 158, 489; Smith makes a voyage to, 115: Sniitli visits, 131: number of warriors at, 142; abundance of food at, 179; Smith arrives at, 1609, 179: Smith stops at Kecoughtan on his way to, 181.

644

West, Captain, i. 18, 103, 489; Gov- ernor, 217, 62G; resents charges against Virginia's climate, 137; John, 288; ii. 438, 470; Nicholas, 474; Richard, 320; Robert, 323.

West Hnndred, i. 216.

West Indies, i. 13, 34, 47, 64, 74, 162, 218, 246, 263, 290, 293, 320, 448, 450, 461, 610, 623 ; maize exported to, in 1643, 329; shipment of pork to, 486; ii. 58, 64, 68, 71, 72, 81, 84; supplies from, 299; trade of, with Virginia, 324-328; New England exchanges provisions for the rum, sugar, and molasses of, 395 ; flour shipped to, 490; coin imported into Virginia from, 502 ; bills of exchange made payable in, 517.

West India Company, i. 351, 369; ii. 292, 310, 315.

Westminster, i. 581.

Westmoreland County, law passed for collection of duty in, i. 387, 388; personal estates in, ii. 250; town building in, 556.

Westover, ii. 342.

Westphalia, ii. 198.

Westrope, Major, i. 366.

Weymouth, Captain, i. 6, 24.

Weymouth City, i. 384, 620.

Wheat, i. 214, 218, 223, 234, 235, 237-2.39, 341; prices in England in time of Company, 256; reasons for neglecting culture of, in Virginia in time of Company, 257-259 ; amount sowed by Abraham Piersey, 301 ; exported from Virginia, 310 ; large amount sowed in last years of Har- vey's administration, 329; amount of, that two laborers could sow, 329; number of acres in, in 1649, 337 ; price of, from 1666 to 1682, 380- 381; not to be exported, 460; how land for production of, prepared, 461-464 ; production to acre, 464 ; implements used in reaping, 464; how threshed, 465 ; ii. 206.

Wheeler, Francis, his personal estate, ii. 248; coin in his inventory, 507.

Whiddon, Augustin, ii. 423.

Whipping post, ii. 32.

Whippoorwill, i. 118, 119.

Whirken, John, ii. 339.

Whistler, Philip, ii. 334.

Whitaker, i. 18, 74, 79, 115, 208, 244, 316 ; ii. 135, 148.

Whitby, Richard, ii. 552; Roger, i. 617.

White, William, ii. 172 ; Richard, 420.

Whitechapel Parish, ii. 141, 257.

Whitehaire, Robert, ii. 158, 213,

Whitehead, Thomas, ii. 123.

White Sea, i. 22.

Whiting, Richard, ii. 318.

Whitty, Captain, ii. 434, 435.

Whortleberry, i. 95.

Wiccocomico, i. 390 ; ii. 346 ; Indians, i. 185, 494, 496; ii. 388; River, i. lOi.

Wiggins, Robert, ii. 141 .

Wigs, ii. 191. •

Wilbourne, Thomas, ii. 334.

Wilcox, Michael, ii. 354.

Wild cats, i. 127.

Wilder, Edward, ii. 439.

Wilkins, Peter, i. 377.

Wilkinson, John, ii. 328.

Willard, Nicholas, ii. 36, 37.

Willett, Thomas, ii. 318.

William and John, ship, ii. 296.

William and Mary College, preface, ix; i. 535, .5.36, 564; ii. 483.

William and Thomas, ship, ii. 285.

Williams, E., i. 329, 465: his descrip- tion of Virginia, 75: describes In- dian fields as being very numerous, 157 ; ii. 436 ; articles which he stated should be brought over by emi- grants, 339 : calculates ability of a man to make pipe staves and clap- boards, ii. 492; John, 420.

Williamsburg, i. 192, 365; ii. 196, 563, 565.

Williamson, Ralph, i. 611.

Willis, Richard, i. 482; ii. 92, 141, 156, 477, 558.

Willoughby, Sir Hugh, i. 22: Sarah, ii. 87; her silverware, 173; her wardrobe, 194; Thomas, i. 372, 375, 377: ii. 298; his residence, 1.56; his wife's chamber, 157 : Court directs him to import weights and measures,

INDEX

645

Wilson, Richard, ii. 334 ; Robert, 424 ; William, 316.

Winchcomb, i. 3U4.

Wiudebauk, Secretary, i. (i21 : ii. 413, 432, 500.

Winder, John, ii. 474.

Windmills. See Mills.

Wines, i. 48, 234, 243, 338, 471 ; ii. 215, 216-231, 342, 357.

Wing, Jeremiah, ii. 159.

Wingate, Robert, i. 558.

Wingfield, President, his poultry, i. 202; ii. 135; allows supplies to be disbursed, 263.

Winslow, Thomas, ii. 474.

Wise, Nicholas, ii. 439.

Wise Plantation, selected as the site for a town, ii. 549.

Witches, i. 628.

Withers, John, ii. 559.

Wolstenholme, Sir John, i. 513; ii. 15, 284, 301.

Wolves, i. 125, 296, 336, 370, 376, 378, 483.

Wood, Abraham, i. 511 ; ii. 45; John, petitions with reference to ship- building on Elizabeth River, ii. 428; Thomas, i. 248.

Woodcock, i. 115.

Woodcock, John, applies to Privy Council for power to collect debts in Virginia, ii. 365.

Woodhouse, Henry, 1. 372, 375, 377; ii. 250.

Woodpecker, i. 122, 123.

Woodward, John, i. 609.

Wool, i. 484, 485 ; Virginia at first not expected to be a seat of woollen manufacture, ii. 460; Colonel Math- ews weaves cloth of, 460 ; regulation in 1()59, prohibiting exportation of, 461 ; General Assembly directs each county to set up a loom, 461 ; statute prohibiting exportation of, repealed in 1671 and reenacted in 1682, 462 ; terms of statute, 462, 463; planters who took advantage of the rewards offered for manufacture of woollen cloth, 463: English authorities dis- courage manufacture of woollen clotli in Virginia, 463, 464; privi- leges extended to persons erecting

fulling mills, 464; Nicholson recom- mends the English Government to discourage woollen manufactures iu Virginia, 465; Parliament i)asses a law that no woollen goods of Amer- ican manufacture shall be exported from the Colony where made, 46(; ; effect of Navigation Acts on local manufacture, 466, 467; local manu- facture stimulated by low price of tobacco, 467, 468 ; owners of woollen- wheels and wool cards, 469; owners of looms, 470; weavers, and the property held by them, 470; slaves educated to take part in domestic manufacture, 470.

Worcester, Battle of, i. 608.

Workhouses to be erected at James- town for children, who were to be educated in carding, knitting, and spinning, ii. 455.

Wormeley, Christopher, ii. 75, 327;

Wormeley, Ralph, number of sheep owned by him, i. 482; ii. 75, 83, 88; value of his slaves, 92 ; his residence, 156 ; his saddle, 239 ; sells tobacco to Robert Vaulx, 370 ; owns negro me- chanics, 405; contents of his black- smith's shop, 418: manufactures linen, 459 ; manufactures woollen cloth, 463; left large quantities of leather, 477; owns millstones, 488, 489; forfeits land on whicli Middle- sex town was designed to be built, 558; a representative man of the seventeenth century, 576.

Wormeley Plantation, selected as the site for a town, ii. 549.

Worms, i. 128; for silk-worms, see Silk.

Would, William, i. 421.

Wraughton, William, i. 416.

Wright, William, ii. 311.

Wrote, i. 243, 297.

Wyanoke, 1. 92, 114, 141, 306, 319, 490, 499.

Wyatt, Sir Dudley, i. 567.

Wyatt, Governor, i. 330, 348, 408, 507 ; refers to sickness among settlers, 134, 1.35; also to longevity of Vir- ginians, 138: required to take bond of all shipmasters, 293; instructed

646

INDEX

in 1638 to grant patents, 510 ; form of the land patent during liis admin- istration, 515; accompanied to Vir- ginia by William Claiborne, 534; ii. 137, 21)2, 293 ; instructions as to the clothing of officials, 187 ; instructed to require bond of Dutch ships, 305 ; his instructions in 1(338-1631), 355; ordered to stop all engrossing, 359 ; instructed to train young men as mechanics, 410 ; ordered to concen- trate mechanics into towns, 411 ; enjoined to erect saw-mills, 430; Jamestown in time of, 531.

Wyke, Peter, ii. 478.

Wyld, Daniel, ii. 408.

Wyrly, Edward, ii. 404.

Wythe, Thomas, employs a negro tan- ner, ii. 406; his silverware, 172; sued by Hip well Hilton, 506.

Yates, ii. 160; cattle owned by the Yates estate, i. 334; Richard, ii. 439.

Yeardley, Argoll, residence of, ii. 157; Francis, ii. 53, 141, 309; a carpen- ter's bill against, 417; Mrs. Sarah, her tombstone, 236; Sir George, i. 234, 587, 588, 626; goes into Mon- acan country as an officer under Delaware, 19; commands at Lower Bermuda Hundred, 217 ; appointed Deputy-Governor, 220; displaced by Argoll, 222; arrives in Virginia, 1619, 226; accompanied by tenants, 230; summons Assembly in 1619, 236; successful with wheat sow- ing, 237; condition of Colony at close of his administration, 251 ; visits Accomac, 258; sales of his tobacco in Holland, 267 ; sent to England in 1625, 283 ; appeal of, suc- cessful, 283 : his herd of cattle, 296, 297 ; uses marl as manure, 427 ; pre- sented by Opechaucanough with land, 490, 491 ; a form of patent is- sued by, 501; subdivision of soil into separate holdings in time of, 504 ; obiects of his mission to Eng- land, 514; ii. 66, 67, 70, 72, 292, 299; ordered to suppress drunkenness, 218 ; size of his estate, 244 ; sent to London in 1625, 297, 301 ; instructed

to allot land to tradesmen, 401 ; cap- tain of Southampton Hundred, 447 ; builds first windmiU in Virginia, 487 ; his estate after his death con- verted into tobacco, 499; his resi- dence at Jamestown, 531.

Yerby, Thomas, ii. 473.

York County, i. 414, 417, 442, 462, 574, 629; records of, preface, ix; goats in, in 1637, 299; injury to live stock in, 316; value of cattle in, about 1645, 333; cattle owners in, 334, 372; number of horses in, about 1665, 374, 375; sheep in, about 1665, 376; price of tobacco in, in 1661, 389; injury inflicted on peojile of, by Plant-Cutters' Rebellion, 406; Digges' Neck in, i. 436; lands in, peculiarly adapted to sweet-scented tobacco, 436; amount of tobacco produced in, in 1689,456; orchards in, 468; prices of horses in, in 1688, 475; wild cattle in, in 1685, 477; value of cattle in, about 1680, 480; owners of sheep in, about 1690, 482; prizes in, for destruction of wolves, 483; price of wool in, 484, 485; value of shoats in, 486; proces- sioning in, 544; objects to importa- tion of jail-birds, 605 ; ii. 8, 30, 88; value of slaves in, 89, 90; a slave who took refuge in its forests, 116; residences in, 154; silverware owned by its citizens, 172 ; prices of liquors in, in 1688, 227; a funeral in, 236; personal estates in, 248; value of land in, 253; English merchants trading in, 334; weights and meas- ures in, 375; blacksmiths owning lands in, 419; land owned by coop- ers in, 420; carpenters owning land in, 424 ; cost, in 1672, of building a sloop in, 436; manufacture of linen in, 458; mills in, 489, 490; coin in inventories of, 514; provision made by, for erection of a house at James- town, 544; town building in, 549, 556-558; jurors from, to aid in as- sessing the value of the site of Wil- liamsburg, 563.

York, Duke of, i. 618; ii. 77; River, i. 39, 80, 103-105, 107, 117, 124, 148,

INDEX

647

320, 632; marshes in valley of, 110; Indian tribes dwelling in valley of, 140-144; palisade to, from Martin's Hundred, 312; Colonists petitioned for right to move to the north side of, 428; ii. 83, 522, 524, 563; ferries on, 226 ; safe harbor in, 346 ; a town to be built on. 540, 544 ; shire, i. 614 ; town, ii. 557, 558.

Youghtanund, i. 142, 159. Young, Alexander, his wigs, ii. 191; Arthur, i. 426 ; Thomas, ii. 47.

Zealand, ii. 301.

Zouch, Sir John, undertakes to estab- lish iron works in Virginia, ii. 451 ; Baron, 284.

Zuniga, i. 62.

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