The History Of Virginia - free ebook by Robert Beverley

IN FOUR PARTS.

A native and inhabitant of the place. REPRINTED FROM THE AUTHOR'S SECOND REVISED EDITION, LONDON, 1722. WITH AN INTRODUCTION Author of the Colonial History of Virginia....

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J. W. RANDOLPH,

Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1855, by J. W. RANDOLPH, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court in and for the Eastern District of Virginia. H. K. ELLYSON'S STEAM PRESSES, RICHMOND, VA....

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THE TABLE.

BOOK I. CHAPTER I. History of the first attempts to settle Virginia, before the discovery of Chesapeake bay. CHAPTER II. Discovery of Chesapeake bay by the corporation of London adventurers; their colony at Jamestown, and proceedings during the government by an elective president and council. CHAPTER III. History of the colony after the change of their government, from an elective president to a commissionated governor, until the dissolution of the company. CHAPTER IV. History of the government,

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THE PREFACE.

My first business in the world being among the public records of my country, the active thoughts of my youth put me upon taking notes of the general administration of the government; but with no other design, than the gratification of my own inquisitive mind; these lay by me for many years afterwards, obscure and secret, and would forever have done so, had not the following accident produced them: In the year 1703, my affairs calling me to England, I was soon after my arrival, complimented by my

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INTRODUCTION.

The name of Beverley has long been a familiar one in Virginia. It is said that the family may be traced among the records of the town of Beverley in England, as far back as to the time of King John. During the reign of Henry VIII, one of the Beverleys was appointed by the Crown a commissioner for enquiring into the state and condition of the northern monasteries. The family received some grants of church property, and one branch of them settled at Shelby, the other at Beverley, in Yorkshire. In

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CHAPTER I.

SHEWING WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FIRST ATTEMPTS TO SETTLE VIRGINIA, BEFORE THE DISCOVERY OF CHESAPEAKE BAY. The learned and valiant Sir Walter Raleigh, having entertained some deeper and more serious considerations upon the state of the earth than most other men of his time, as may sufficiently appear by his incomparable book, the History of the World, and having laid together the many stories then in Europe concerning America, the native beauty, riches, and value of that part of the world, and the

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CHAPTER II.

CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF THE FIRST SETTLEMENT OF CHESAPEAKE BAY, IN VIRGINIA, BY THE CORPORATION OF LONDON ADVENTURERS, AND THEIR PROCEEDINGS DURING THEIR GOVERNMENT BY A PRESIDENT AND COUNCIL ELECTIVE. § 13. The merchants of London, Bristol, Exeter, and Plymouth soon perceived what great gains might be made of a trade this way, if it were well managed and colonies could be rightly settled, which was sufficiently evinced by the great profits some ships had made, which had not met with ill accide

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CHAPTER III.

SHEWING WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THE ALTERATION OF THE GOVERNMENT FROM AN ELECTIVE PRESIDENT TO A COMMISSIONATED GOVERNOR, UNTIL THE DISSOLUTION OF THE COMPANY. § 20. In the meanwhile the treasurer, council and company of Virginia adventurers in London, not finding that return and profit from the adventurers they expected, and rightly judging that this disappointment, as well as the idle quarrels in the colony, proceeded from a mismanage of government, petitioned his majesty, and got a new patent wit

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CHAPTER IV.

CONTAINING THE HISTORY OF THE GOVERNMENT FROM THE DISSOLUTION OF THE COMPANY TO THE YEAR SEVENTEEN HUNDRED AND SEVEN. § 53. The country being thus taken into the king's hands, his majesty was pleased to establish the constitution to be by a governor, council and assembly, and to confirm the former methods and jurisdictions of the several courts, as they had been appointed in the year 1620, and placed the last resort in the assembly. He likewise confirmed the rules and orders made by the first as

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CHAPTER I.

OF THE BOUNDS AND COAST OF VIRGINIA. § 1. Virginia, as you have heard before, was a name at first given to all the northern part of the continent of America; and when the original grant was made, both to the first and second colonies, that is, to those of Virginia and New England, they were both granted under the name of Virginia. And afterwards, when grants for other new colonies were made by particular names, those names for a long time served only to distinguish them as so many parts of Virgi

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CHAPTER II.

OF THE WATERS. § 4. The largeness of the bay of Chesapeake, I have mentioned already. From one end of it to the other, there is good anchorage, and so little danger of a wreck, that many masters, who have never been there before, venture up to the head of the bay, upon the slender knowledge of a common sailor. But the experience of one voyage teaches any master to go up afterwards without a pilot. Besides this bay, the country is watered with four great rivers, viz: James, York, Rappahannock, an

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CHAPTER III.

OF THE EARTH AND SOILS. § 7. The soil is of such variety, according to the difference of situation, that one part or other of it seems fitted to every sort of plant that is requisite either for the benefit or pleasure of mankind. And were it not for the high mountains to the northwest, which are supposed to retain vast magazines of snow, and by that means cause the wind from that quarter to descend a little too cold upon them, 'tis believed that many of those delicious summer fruits, growing in

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CHAPTER IV.

OF THE WILD FRUITS OF THE COUNTRY. § 11. Of fruits natural to the country, there is great abundance, but the several species of them are produced according to the difference of the soil, and the various situation of the country; it being impossible that one piece of ground should produce so many different kinds intermixed. Of the better sorts of the wild fruits that I have met with, I will barely give you the names, not designing a natural history. And when I have done that, possibly I may not m

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CHAPTER V.

OF THE FISH. § 21. As for fish, both of fresh and salt water, of shell fish, and others, no country can boast of more variety, greater plenty, or of better in their several kinds. In the spring of the year herrings come up in such abundance into their brooks and fords to spawn, that it is almost impossible to ride through without treading on them. Thus do those poor creatures expose their own lives to some hazard, out of their care to find a more convenient reception for their young, which are n

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CHAPTER VI.

OF WILD FOWL AND HUNTED GAME. § 25. As in summer, the rivers and creeks are filled with fish, so in winter they are in many places covered with fowl. There are such a multitude of swans, geese, brants, sheldrakes, ducks of several sorts, mallard, teal, blewings, and many other kinds of water fowl, that the plenty of them is incredible. I am but a small sportsman, yet with a fowling piece have killed above twenty of them at a shot. In like manner are the mill ponds and great runs in the woods sto

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CHAPTER I.

OF THE INDIANS AND THEIR DRESS. § 1. The Indians are of the middling and largest stature of the English. They are straight and well proportioned, having the cleanest and most exact limbs in the world. They are so perfect in their outward frame, that I never heard of one single Indian that was either dwarfish, crooked, bandy-legged, or otherwise misshapen. But if they have any such practice among them as the Romans had, of exposing such children till they died, as were weak and misshapen at their

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CHAPTER II.

OF THE MARRIAGES AMONGST THE INDIANS, AND MANAGEMENT OF THEIR CHILDREN. § 6. The Indians have their solemnities of marriage, and esteem the vows made at that time as most sacred and inviolable. Notwithstanding they allow both the man and the wife to part upon disagreement, yet so great is the disreputation of a divorce, that married people, to avoid the character of inconstant and ungenerous, very rarely let their quarrels proceed to a separation. However, when it does so happen, they reckon all

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CHAPTER III.

OF THE TOWNS, BUILDINGS AND FORTIFICATIONS OF THE INDIANS. § 9. The method of the Indian settlements is altogether by cohabitation, in townships, from fifty to five hundred families in a town, and each of these towns is commonly a kingdom. Sometimes one king has the command of several of these towns, when they happen to be united in his hands by descent or conquest; but in such cases there is always a vicegerent appointed in the dependent town, who is at once governor, judge, chancellor, and has

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CHAPTER IV.

OF THEIR COOKERY AND FOOD. § 14. Their cookery has nothing commendable in it, but that it is performed with little trouble. They have no other sauce but a good stomach, which they seldom want. They boil, broil, or toast all the meat they eat, and it is very common with them to boil fish as well as flesh with their homony; this is Indian corn soaked, broken in a mortar, husked, and then boiled in water over a gentle fire for ten or twelve hours, to the consistence of frumenty: the thin of this is

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CHAPTER V.

OF THE TRAVELING, RECEPTION AND ENTERTAINMENT OF THE INDIANS. § 19. Their travels they perform altogether on foot, the fatigue of which they endure to admiration. They make no other provision for their journey but their gun or bow, to supply them with food for many hundred miles together. If they carry any flesh in their marches, they barbecue it, or rather dry it by degrees, at some distance over the clear coals of a wood fire; just as the Charibees are said to preserve the bodies of their king

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CHAPTER VI.

OF THE LEARNING AND LANGUAGES OF THE INDIANS. § 22. These Indians have no sort of letters to express their words by; but when they would communicate anything that cannot be delivered by message, they do it by a sort of hieroglyphic, or representation of birds, beasts, or other things, shewing their different meaning by the various forms described, and by the different position of the figures. Baron Lahontan, in his second volume of New Voyages, has two extraordinary chapters concerning the heral

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CHAPTER VII.

OF THE WAR, AND PEACE OF THE INDIANS. § 24. When they are about to undertake any war or other solemn enterprise, the king summons a convention of his great men to assist at a grand council, which, in their language, is called a Matchacomoco. At these assemblies, 'tis the custom, especially when a war is expected, for the young men to paint themselves irregularly with black, red, white, and several other motley colors, making one-half of their face red, (for instance,) and the other black or whit

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CHAPTER VIII.

CONCERNING THE RELIGION, WORSHIP, AND SUPERSTITIOUS CUSTOMS OF THE INDIANS. § 29. I don't pretend to have dived into all the mysteries of the Indian religion, nor have I had such opportunities of learning them as father Henepin and Baron Lahontan had, by living much among the Indians in their towns; and because my rule is to say nothing but what I know to be truth, I shall be very brief upon this head. In the writings of those two gentlemen, I cannot but observe direct contradictions, although t

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CHAPTER IX.

OF THE DISEASES AND CURES OF THE INDIANS. § 41. The Indians are not subject to many diseases; and such as they have, generally come from excessive heats and sudden colds, which they as suddenly get away by sweating. But if the humor happen to fix, and make a pain in any particular joint, or limb, their general cure then is by burning, if it be in any part that will bear it; their method of doing this is by little sticks of lightwood, the coal of which will burn like a hot iron; the sharp point o

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CHAPTER X.

OF THE SPORTS AND PASTIMES OF THE INDIANS. § 43. Their sports and pastimes are singing, dancing, instrumental music, and some boisterous plays, which are performed by running, catching and leaping upon one another; they have also one great diversion, to the practicing of which are requisite whole handfuls of little sticks or hard straws, which they know how to count as fast as they can cast their eyes upon them, and can handle with a surprising dexterity. Their singing is not the most charming t

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CHAPTER XI.

OF THE LAWS, AND AUTHORITY OF THE INDIANS AMONG ONE ANOTHER. § 44. The Indians having no sort of letters among them, as has been before observed, they can have no written laws; nor did the constitution in which we found them seem to need many. Nature and their own convenience having taught them to obey one chief, who is arbiter of all things among them. They claim no property in lands, but they are in common to a whole nation. Every one hunts and fishes, and gathers fruits in all places. Their l

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CHAPTER XII.

OF THE TREASURE OR RICHES OF THE INDIANS. § 46. The Indians had nothing which they reckoned riches, before the English went among them, except peak, roenoke, and such like trifles made out of the conch shell. These past with them instead of gold and silver, and served them both for money and ornament. It was the English alone that taught them first to put a value on their skins and furs, and to make a trade of them. Peak is of two sorts, or rather of two colors, for both are made of one shell, t

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CHAPTER XIII.

OF THE HANDICRAFTS OF THE INDIANS. § 47. Before I finish my account of the Indians, it will not be amiss to inform you, that when the English went first among them, they had no sort of iron or steel instruments; but their knives were either sharpened reeds or shells, and their axes sharp stones, bound to the end of a stick, and glued in with turpentine. By the help of these, they made their bows of the locust tree, an excessive hard wood when it is dry, but much more easily cut when it is green,

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CHAPTER I.

OF THE CONSTITUTION OF GOVERNMENT IN VIRGINIA. § 1. I have already hinted, that the first settlement of this country was under the direction of a company of merchants incorporated. That the first constitution of government appointed by them was a president and council, which council was nominated by the corporation or company in London, and the president annually chosen by the people in Virginia. That in the year 1610, this constitution was altered, and the company obtained a new grant of his ma

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CHAPTER II.

OF THE SUBDIVISIONS OF VIRGINIA. § 5. The country is divided into twenty-nine counties, and the counties, as they are in bigness, into fewer or more parishes, as they are filled with inhabitants. The method of bounding the counties is at this time with respect to the convenience of having each county limited to one single river, for its trade and shipping, so that any one whose concerns are altogether in one county, may not be obliged to seek his freight and shipping in more than one river. Wher

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CHAPTER III.

OF THE PUBLIC OFFICES OF GOVERNMENT. § 8. Besides the governor and council aforementioned, there are three other general officers in that colony bearing his majesty's immediate commission, viz: the auditor of the revenue, the receiver general of it, and the secretary of state. The auditor's business is to audit the accounts of the public money of the government, and duly to transmit the state of them to England. Such as the quitrents, the money arising by the two shillings per hogshead, fort dut

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CHAPTER IV.

OF THE STANDING REVENUES, OR PUBLIC FUNDS IN VIRGINIA. § 12. There are five sorts of standing public revenues in that country, viz: 1. A rent reserved by the crown upon all the lands granted by patent. 2. A revenue granted to his majesty by act of assembly, for the support and maintenance of the government. 3. A revenue raised by the assembly, and kept in their own disposal, for extraordinary occasions. 4. A revenue raised by the assembly, and granted to the college. And 5. A revenue raised by a

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CHAPTER V.

OF THE LEVIES FOR PAYMENT OF THE PUBLIC COUNTY AND PARISH DEBTS. § 18. They have but two ways of raising money publicly in that country, viz: by duties upon trade, and a poll tax, which they call levies. Of the duties upon trade, I have spoken sufficiently in the preceding chapter. I come, therefore, now to speak of the levies, which are a certain rate or proportion of tobacco charged upon the head of every tithable person in the country, upon all alike, without distinction. They call all negroe

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CHAPTER VI.

OF THE COURTS OF LAW IN VIRGINIA. § 22. I have already, in the chronology of the government, hinted what the constitution of their courts was in old time, and that appeals lay from the general court to the assembly; that the general court, from the beginning, took cognizance of all causes whatsoever, both ecclesiastical and civil, determining everything by the standard of equity and good conscience. They used to come to the merits of the cause as soon as they could without injustice, never admit

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CHAPTER VII.

OF THE CHURCH AND CHURCH AFFAIRS. § 33. Their parishes are accounted large or small, in proportion to the number of tithables contained in them, and not according to the extent of land. § 34. They have in each parish a convenient church, built either of timber, brick or stone, and decently adorned with everything necessary for the celebration of divine service. If a parish be of greater extent than ordinary, it hath generally a chapel of ease; and some of the parishes have two such chapels, besi

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CHAPTER VIII.

CONCERNING THE COLLEGE. § 40. The college, as has been hinted, was founded by their late majesties, King William and Queen Mary, of happy memory, in the year 1692. Towards the founding of which, they gave one thousand nine hundred and eighty-five pounds, fourteen shillings and ten pence. They gave moreover, towards the endowment of it, twenty thousand acres of land; the revenue of one pence per pound on tobacco exported to the plantations from Virginia and Maryland; and the surveyor general's pl

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CHAPTER IX.

OF THE MILITIA IN VIRGINIA. § 45. The militia are the only standing forces in Virginia. They are happy in the enjoyment of an everlasting peace, which their poverty and want of towns secure to them. They have the Indians round about in subjection, and have no sort of apprehension from them: and for a foreign enemy, it can never be worth their while to carry troops sufficient to conquer the country; and the scattering method of their settlement will not answer the charge of an expedition to plund

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CHAPTER X.

OF THE SERVANTS AND SLAVES IN VIRGINIA. § 50. Their servants they distinguish by the names of slaves for life, and servants for a time. Slaves are the negroes and their posterity, following the condition of the mother, according to the maxim, partus frequitur ventrem . They are called slaves, in respect of the time of their servitude, because it is for life. Servants, are those which serve only for a few years, according to the time of their indenture, or the custom of the country. The custom of

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CHAPTER XI.

OF THE OTHER PUBLIC CHARITABLE WORKS, AND PARTICULARLY THEIR PROVISION FOR THE POOR. § 53. They live in so happy a climate, and have so fertile a soil, that nobody is poor enough to beg, or want food, though they have abundance of people that are lazy enough to deserve it. I remember the time when five pounds was left by a charitable testator to the poor of the parish he lived in, and it lay nine years before the executors could find one poor enough to accept of this legacy, but at last it was g

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CHAPTER XII.

OF THE TENURE BY WHICH THEY HOLD THEIR LANDS, AND OF THEIR GRANTS. § 56. The tenure of their land there is free and common soccage, according to custom of east Greenwich; and is created by letters patents, issuing under the seal of the colony, and under the test of the governor in chief for the time being. I don't find that the name of any other officer is necessary to make the patent valid. § 57. There are three ways of obtaining from his majesty a title to land there, viz: 1. By taking a paten

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CHAPTER XIII.

OF THE LIBERTIES AND NATURALIZATION OF ALIENS IN VIRGINIA. § 62. Christians of all nations have equal freedom there, and upon their arrival become ipso facto entitled to all the liberties and privileges of the country, provided they take the oaths of obedience to the crown and government, and obtain the governor's testimonial thereof. The method of obtaining naturalization is thus: the party desiring it goes before the governor, and tenders his oath of allegiance, which the governor thereupon ad

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CHAPTER XIV.

OF THE CURRENCY AND VALUATION OF COINS IN VIRGINIA. § 64. The coin which chiefly they have among them, is either gold, of the stamp of Arabia, or silver and gold, of the stamp of France, Portugal or the Spanish America: Spanish, French and Portuguese coined silver is settled by law at three pence three farthings the pennyweight. Gold of the same coin, and of Arabia, at five shillings the pennyweight. English guineas at twenty-six shillings each, and the silver two pence in every shilling advance

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CHAPTER XV.

OF THE PEOPLE, INHABITANTS OF VIRGINIA. § 65. I can easily imagine with Sir Josiah Child, that this, as well as all the rest of the plantations, was for the most part, at first, peopled by persons of low circumstances, and by such as were willing to seek their fortunes in a foreign country. Nor was it hardly possible it should be otherwise; for 'tis not likely that any man of a plentiful estate should voluntarily abandon a happy certainty, to roam after imaginary advantages in a new world. Besid

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CHAPTER XVI.

OF THE BUILDINGS OF VIRGINIA. § 68. There are three fine public buildings in this country, which are said to be the most magnificent of any in the English America: one of which is the college before spoken of, another the capitol or state house, as it was formerly called; that is, the house for convention of the general assembly, for the sitting of the general court, for the meeting of the council, and for keeping of their several offices, belonging to them. Not far from this, is also built the

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CHAPTER XVII.

OF THE EDIBLES, POTABLES, AND FUEL IN VIRGINIA. § 70. The families being altogether on country seats, they have their graziers, seedsmen, gardeners, brewers, bakers, butchers and cooks, within themselves. They have plenty and variety of provisions for their table; and as for spicery, and other things that the country don't produce, they have constant supplies of them from England. The gentry pretend to have their victuals dressed, and served up as nicely, as if they were in London. § 71. When I

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CHAPTER XVIII.

OF THE CLOTHING IN VIRGINIA. § 76. They have their clothing of all sorts from England; as linen, woollen, silk, hats and leather. Yet flax and hemp grow no where in the world better than there. Their sheep yield good increase, and bear good fleeces; but they shear them only to cool them. The mulberry tree, whose leaf is the proper food of the silk worm, grows there like a weed, and silk worms have been observed to thrive extremely, and without any hazard. The very furs that their hats are made o

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CHAPTER XIX.

OF THE TEMPERATURE OF THE CLIMATE, AND THE INCONVENIENCIES ATTENDING IT. § 77. The natural temperature of the inhabited part of the country is hot and moist, though this moisture I take to be occasioned by the abundance of low grounds, marshes, creeks and rivers, which are everywhere among their lower settlements; but more backward in the woods, where they are now seating, and making new plantations, they have abundance of high and dry land, where there are only crystal streams of water, which f

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CHAPTER XX.

OF THE DISEASES INCIDENT TO VIRGINIA. § 82. While we are upon the climate, and its accidents, it will not be improper to mention the diseases incident to Virginia. Distempers come not there by choaking up the spirits, with a foggy and thick air, as in some northern climes; nor by a stifling heat, that exhales the vigor of those that dwell in a more southerly latitude: but by a willful and foolish indulging themselves in those pleasures, which in a warm and fruitful country, nature lavishes upon

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CHAPTER XXI.

OF THE RECREATIONS AND PASTIMES USED IN VIRGINIA. § 86. For their recreation, the plantations, orchards and gardens constantly afford them fragrant and delightful walks. In their woods and fields, they have an unknown variety of vegetables, and other rarities of nature to discover and observe. They have hunting, fishing and fowling, with which they entertain themselves an hundred ways. There is the most good nature and hospitality practiced in the world, both towards friends and strangers: but t

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CHAPTER XXII.

OF THE NATURAL PRODUCTS OF VIRGINIA, AND THE ADVANTAGES OF THEIR HUSBANDRY. § 96. The extreme fruitfulness of that country, has been sufficiently shown in the second book, and I think we may justly add, that in that particular it is not exceeded by any other. No seed is sown there, but it thrives; and most of the northern plants are improved, by being transplanted thither. And yet there's very little improvement made among them, seldom anything used in traffic but tobacco. Besides all the natura

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