The Charters of the Virginia Company of London and the Establishment of a Government in Virginia
Transcript
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The Charters of the Virginia Company of London and the
Establishment of a Government in Virginia
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The Charters of the Virginia Company of London The King of
England had the power to grant charters allowing settlement in
North America. charter a document issued by a government
authority.
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The Importance of the Virginia Charters The King of England
granted charters to the Virginia Company of London to: - Establish
a settlement in North America. - Extend English rights to the
settlers. *Very important!
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English Law Rules! The Virginia colony, even though it was far
away from its parent country, had to obey English law!
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Virginia Establishes Its Own Government As Jamestown grew, the
system of government evolved. In 1619, the governor of Virginia
called a meeting of the Virginia General Assembly.
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Virginia Establishes Its Own Government The General Assembly
included two citizen representatives called burgesses, from each
division of Virginia, the governors council, and the governor.
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Virginia Establishes Its Own Government They met as one
legislative body. At this time, only certain free adult men had a
right to take part.
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Virginia House of Burgesses By the 1640s, the burgesses became
a separate legislative body, called the Virginia House of
Burgesses. They met separately from the Governors Council as one of
the two legislative bodies of the General Assembly.
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Virginia House of Burgesses The Virginia House of Burgesses was
the first elected legislative body in English America giving
settlers the opportunity to control their own government. The
current Virginia General Assembly dates from the establishment of
the House of Burgesses at Jamestown in 1619.