Sir Thomas Dale was the next governor. He was empowered by the company to rule by martial law, which even the Spaniards had not the boldness to intro duce into their settlements; but it was approved of in this instance, by sir Francis Bacon, one of the greatest philosophers and civilians of his time. In consequence of the authority with which Dale was invested, and which he exercised with becoming moderation, the artiN ity of the planters increased, and industry prevail ed throughout the colony. The friendship of the Ltig• fish was courted by the natives. A powerful tribe near the river Chickahominy declared themselves to be the subjects of Great Britain, took the name of Englishmen, and agreed to furnish the settlers annually with a stipu lated portion of corn. Mr Rolfe, a young gentleman of the colony, smitten with the beauty of Pocalluntas, the daughter of Powhatan, asked her in marriage of her father, and obtained her own consent to the union. An alliance with Powhatan was the consequence of this marriage ; and the land being now divided, for the first time, among the settlers, and granted to them in full property, industry was excited by the hope of wealth; and improvements of every kind took place. Tobacco, as affording the most certain return, was eagerly culti vated and exported. Still, however, the colony consisted chiefly of males. Few, if ally, of the planters had imi tated the example of Rolfe; and the only way in which the strength of the association could be augmented, was by fresh and consecutive arrivals from the mother country. In order to remedy this deficiency, young women of humble origin, but of good character, were sent out from England, and the planters were encouraged to marry them by premiums offered by the company. They were fondly received by the American settlers, and were established so much to their satisfaction, that others, hearing of their prosperous fortune, ventured across the Atlantic, and became wives and mothers in a short time.
The Europeans now began to feel an interest in the welfare of a country which they looked upon as their own. This interest was farther excited and quickened by an act of sir George Yeardley, the new governor. In the year 1 6 1 9, he called the first general assembly which was held in Virginia, and raised the colonists, who, till then, had been nothing more than the servants of the company, to the distinction and the privileges of free men. In this assembly, which met at James-town, ele ven corporations were present, by their representatives; and though the laws which they enacted were neither numerous, nor of great consequence, yet the meeting itself is to be regarded as an important era in the his tory of Virginia. The constitution was now formed on the model of that which was established in England. The highest legislative authority was lodged, partly in the governor representing the sovereign, partly in a council named by the company, and representing the peerage, and meant also to assist the governor in the executive, and partly in a body of men chosen by the settlers, and enjoying the rights and privileges of the English commons. A negative was reserved to the go vernor ; and no ordinance was held to be of force, till it was seen and ratified by the company in Europe.
About the time when the first assembly was convo ked, a Dutch ship from Africa, arriving at James-town, a part of her cargo of negroes was purchased by the colony ; and these rapidly increasing their numbers, the whole field work in Virginia was, in a short time, per formed by the hands of slaves.
But in the midst of this tranquillity and success, a calamity was approaching, which was both unhooked for and severe. Powhatan, the Indian chief, was dead. He was succeeded by Opechancanough his son; who not only inherited the dominion of his father, but equal led him likewise in his influence over the neighbouring tribes. With impenetrable secrecy, and no small ad dress, he formed a conspiracy to massacre the English, and to deliver the country from theme unyyelcome intru ders, who were living in the utmost securit), or lVali dering from place to place, unsuspicious of danger, and unprepared for assault. Not a word or a look, NV hich could indicate their purpose, escaped from the savages. They traded with the Europeans as formerly ; they brought in provisions, and were considered as Iricuds, whom there was no reason either to suspect or to dread. But every tribe had its station allotted to it, and the day consecrated to vengeance was fixed. On the ..f2d March 1618, they rushed upon the English in all their settlements, and in the fury of that vindictive spirit which characterizes the American savages, they butch ered men, hrQmen, and children, without pity or re morse. In many places, not a single European escaped ; and the blow was so completely unexpected, that they knew not from whence it came. One man only of the whole conspiracy, touched with compassion for the set tlers, or moved by the influence of the Christian reli gion, which he had adopted, felt within himself a dis position to reveal the secret; and he communicated it to his master in such time, as to prevent James-town, and some of the adjacent settlements, from experien cing the dreadful effects of Indian vengeance. A bloody war ensued : the English, by their arms, their disci pline, and the succours which arrived from Europe, were still more than a match for the savages. They hunted them like wild beasts ; they allured them from their retreat by the hopes of peace : and falling upon their settlements at the time of the harvest, they mur dered them with relentless cruelty, and destroyed their possessions. In consequence of this awful retaliation, the colony was left undisturbed by the natives, and the hopes of the English began to revive.
But the company in London were by no means so pli ant to the will of James as he had expected. That sapient monarch now discovered, that he had acted un wisely in granting to them the high privileges which they enjoyed. They delighted to thwart his inclinations, and defeat his purposes; and as the parties which now divide the British senate were then forming, the meet ings of the council were the theatre on which the popu lar orators displayed their eloquence ; and canvassed the measures of the sovereign, with a freedom not at all agreeable either to his notions of his own wisdom, or of the royal prerogative. Ile attempted to model anew the government of Virginia ; but the company resisted, and pleaded the validity of the charter which they had received. This exasperated James in the highest de gree. He issued a writ of quo 'ira rran 0, against the proprietors, the cause was tried in the court of king's bench, and decided in favour of the crown : the compa ny was dissolved, and its rights and privileges being forfeited, returned to the sovereign by whom they were bestowed. James unfortunately died when he was em ploying all his wisdom in contriving a suitable mode of government for the colony in Virginia.