Page:The Slave Struggle in America.djvu/7

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sketch of the slave struggle in America commences with the reign of George III., but it is necessary to glance over the history of our colonisation of North America to understand out of what diverse material the British-American colonies were built up. A few words on the condition of the colonies in regard to slavery prior to the War of Independence will also help us to the better comprehension of the subsequent struggle.

Our first permanent settlement was in the year 1606, in the reign of James I., under a charter granting to Sir Thomas Gates and others territory, then known as Virginia, territory which Sir Walter Raleigh had thrice attempted to colonise, and which had been called Virginia after the Virgin Queen Elizabeth. The colony was to be governed by a local council, appointed and removable at the will of the Crown. The local council was to be directed by another council sitting in England. Allegiance to the Crown was strictly insisted upon, and the royal authority made supreme. In 1619 there was much discontent in the colony, and the governor, Sir George Yeardley, called a general council, composed of representatives from the different plantations in the colony, and these exercised legislative functions. This is worth noting as the first representative legislature that ever sat in America. In 1624 the Crown demanded and obtained the surrender of the charters. The king then appointed a governor and twelve councillors, who had the entire direction of the affairs of the colony. From that moment until the War of Independence Virginia was a royal province. In 1671 Sir Wm. Berkeley, in answer to the Lords Commissioners, stated that the population was about 40,000. As to instruction, he said: "I thank God there are no free schools nor printing; and I hope we shall not have them these hundred years, for learning has