House of Burgesses
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| House of Burgesses | |
|---|---|
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| Timeline | |
| Colony of Virginia | |
| 1619 | |
| Succeeded by | Virginia House of Delegates |
| Disbanded | 1776 |
| Meeting place | |
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| Reconstructed chamber in Williamsburg Jamestown, Virginia (1619-1699) Williamsburg, Virginia (1699-1776) |
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The House of Burgesses was the first assembly of elected representatives of English colonists in North America. The House was established by the Virginia Company, who created the body as part of an effort to encourage English craftsmen to settle in North America. Its first meeting was held in Jamestown, Virginia, on July 30, 1619.[1]
The word "Burgess" means an elected or appointed official of a municipality, or the representative of a borough in the English House of Commons.
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[edit] Origins
In the 1610s, the Virginia Company of London ended monopoly on land ownership, believing that the colonists would display greater initiative if they could gain ownership of land. The changes encouraged private investment from the colony's settlers, which allowed them to own land rather than simply being sharecroppers. The company designed four large corporations, termed cities [sic], to encompass the developed portion of the colony. Company officials adopted English Common Law as the basis of their system in the Virginia colony, replacing the governor as the final voice on legal matters.
The House of Burgesses consisted of delegates elected by the colonists, and these delegates would[clarification needed] meet annually at Jamestown. (In Bermuda, previously part of Virginia, the House of Assembly was created that same year).
Prompted by the Virginia Company, colonial governor Sir George Yeardley helped facilitate elections of Burgesses to this new legislative body, and these elections would[clarification needed] come from eleven boroughs adjacent to the James River, along with eleven additional burgesses.
The House's first session of July 30, 1619, accomplished little. It was cut short by an outbreak of malaria. The assembly had 22 members from the following constituencies:[2]
- The colony's governor, appointed in London,
- The governor's council, a group of six citizens selected by the governor,
- The burgesses from various locales, initially larger plantations; counties were included later.
White men over the age of 17 who owned land were eligible to vote.[2] The House was also called the Virgina House of London.
[edit] Moving toward independence
Though not a unique occurrence on the frontier, colonists remained loyal to the British crown during the French and Indian War in North America from 1754 to 1763. Despite its beginnings in Europe between Great Britain and France, it resulted in local colonial losses and economic disruption. Higher taxes were to follow, and adverse local reactions to these and how they were determined would drive events well into the next decade.
In 1764, desiring revenue from its North American colonies, Parliament passed the first law specifically aimed at raising colonial money for the Crown. The Sugar Act increased duties on non-British goods shipped to the colonies. The same year, the Currency Act prohibited American colonies from issuing their own currency. These angered many American colonists and began colonial opposition with protests. In Massachusetts, participants at a town meeting cried out against taxation without proper representation in Parliament, and suggested some form of united protest throughout the colonies. By the end of the year, many colonies were practicing non-importation, a refusal to use imported English goods. In 1765 the British Quartering Act, which required the colonies to provide barracks and supplies to British troops, further angered American colonists; and to raise more money for Britain, Parliament enacted the Stamp Act on the American colonies, to tax newspapers, almanacs, pamphlets, broadsides, legal documents, dice, and playing cards. American colonists responded to Parliament's acts with organized protest throughout the colonies. A network of secret organizations known as the Sons of Liberty was created to intimidate the stamp agents collecting the taxes, and before the Stamp Act could take effect, all the appointed stamp agents in the colonies had resigned. The Massachusetts Assembly suggested a meeting of all colonies to work for the repeal of the Stamp Act, and all but four colonies were represented. The colonists also increased their non-importation efforts,[3] and sought to increase in local production.
In 1769 the Virginia House of Burgesses passed resolutions (Virginia's Resolutions) condemning Britain's stationing troops in Boston following the Massachusetts Circular Letter of the previous year. They stated that only Virginia's governor and legislature could tax its citizens. The members also drafted a formal letter to the King, completing it just before the legislature was dissolved by Virginia's royal governor.[4] On a less political note among Burgess members, the House of Burgesses passed a series of non-importation agreements as a way of speeding economic recovery and opposing the Townshend Acts.
In 1774 the First Continental Congress passed their Declaration and Resolves, which inter alia claimed that American colonists were equal to all other British citizens, protested taxation without representation, and stated that, without colonial representation in Parliament, Parliament could not tax colonists.
[edit] Meeting places
In 1699, the seat of the House of Burgesses was moved from Jamestown to Middle Plantation, soon renamed Williamsburg, in honor of King William III. The Burgesses met there in two consecutive Capitol buildings (the first use of the word in the English Colonies). The present Capitol at Colonial Williamsburg is a reconstruction of the earlier of the two lost buildings.
In 1779, and effective in April 1780, the House of Delegates moved the capital city to Richmond during the American Revolutionary War for safety reasons.
[edit] Legacy
The Assembly became the Virginia House of Delegates in 1776, forming the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative branch of the Commonwealth (State) of Virginia.
In honor of the original House of Burgesses, every other year, the Virginia General Assembly traditionally leaves the current Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, and meets for one day in the restored Capitol at Colonial Williamsburg.
In 2006, the Assembly held a special session at Jamestown to mark the 400th anniversary of its founding as part of the Jamestown 2007 celebration.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] Further reading
- Hatch, Charles E., Jr., (1956 rev). America's Oldest Legislative Assembly & Its Jamestown Statehouses, Appendix II. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service.
- Mayer, Henry (1986). A Son of Thunder, Patrick Henry and the American Republic. New York: Franklin Watts.
- Salmon, Emily J. and Campbell, Jr., Edward D. C., editors, The Hornbook of Virginia History. Richmond, Virginia: The Library of Virginia, 1994.
[edit] External links
Media related to Category:House of Burgesses at Wikimedia Commons
