Virginia

HISTORY 

On March 25, 1584, Queen Elizabeth granted Sir Walter Raleigh a royal charter authorizing him to found a colony north of Spanish Florida in return for one-fifth of all the gold and silver that might be mined there. Raleigh organised several expeditions, attempting to establish a settlement there.

The name "Virginia" may have been suggested then by Raleigh for Elizabeth, noting her status as the "Virgin Queen,"

The London Company was an English joint-stock company established in 1606 by royal charter by King James I with the purpose of establishing colonial settlements in North America. The Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery departed England in 1606 carrying settlers heading for territory named the Virginia colony, granted to the London Company.

On May 4, 1607 the settlers selected a piece of land on a large peninsula some 40 miles (64 km) inland from the Atlantic Ocean as a prime location for a fortified settlement. They founded there the Jamestown Settlement on the James River.

Map of Jamestown Island, showing the terrain and location of the original 1607 fort.

In its early years, many people in Virginia died of disease and starvation. The colony lasted only because it made money by planting tobacco.

When John Laydon and Anna Burras married each other in late 1608 in Jamestown, Virginia, it was the first ever Christian marriage in the American colonies. Their daughter Virginia Laydon was the first child of English colonists to be born in the Jamestown colony.

 

The Virginia General Assembly is the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere. It was established on July 30, 1619, by instructions from the Virginia Company of London to the new Governor Sir George Yeardley. It was initially a unicameral body composed of the Company-appointed Governor and Council of State, plus 22 burgesses elected by the settlements and Jamestown. The Assembly became bicameral in 1642 upon the formation of the House of Burgesses. The Assembly had a judicial function of hearing cases both original and appellate.

The Virginia General Assembly has played a significant role in American history. It was the first legislative body in the Americas to enact laws for the protection of individual rights, including freedom of religion and the right to a fair trial. The Assembly also played a key role in the American Revolution, drafting the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which served as a model for the Declaration of Independence.

Colonial Jamestown about 1614

The first 20 African slaves were brought to England's American territories by a Dutch ship. They landed off the coast of Virginia in 1619 and were then sold into slavery in Jamestown.

The first temperance law in the colonies was enacted in Virginia in 1623.

The court of Northampton County, Colony of Virginia, made John Casor the first legally recognized slave in Britain's North American colonies in 1655.

Virginia was one of the Thirteen Colonies involved in the American Revolution.

The dome in Thomas Jefferson's Monticello home concealed a billiard room. Billiards was illegal in Virginia at the time.

During the American Civil War, Virginia joined the Confederate States of America, which named Richmond its capital, and the state of West Virginia separated. The city was partially burned by them prior its recapture by Union forces in 1865.

Richmond in the Civil War

The only captured battle flag from the Civil War not returned to its state is Virginia's. It was captured by Minnesota at the Battle of Gettysburg. Congress ordered its return in 1905.

FUN VIRGINA FACTS

Virginia has a total area of 42,774.2 square miles (110,784.7 km2), including 3,180.13 square miles (8,236.5 km2) of water, making it the 35th-largest  U.S. state by area.

Ashburn, Virginia has over 5 million square feet of data space, meaning 70% of the world’s internet traffic travels through this state.

Virginia is the most populous U.S. state without a major professional sports league franchise. The reasons for this include the lack of any dominant city or market within the state, the proximity of teams in Washington, D.C. and North Carolina, and a reluctance to publicly finance stadiums.

Eight United States presidents were born in Virginia, more than any other state.

Virginia designated the American foxhound as the official state dog in 1966.

Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel in Virginia is both a bridge and a tunnel. Considered one of the seven wonders of modern engineering, it was completed in 1964 and is 23 miles long. There are only 11 bridge–tunnel systems in the world, three of which are located in the water dominated Hampton Roads area of Tidewater Virginia.

The Pentagon is the world's largest office building.  It is located in Arlington, Virginia.

The only place in Virginia that can legally sell hard alcohol are ABC Stores. They are owned and operated by the state, employing 4000 employees in 370 stores, generating hundreds of millions in revenue for Virginia.

Lawmakers in Virginia must not want their citizens to bathe. Virginia law forbids bathtubs in the house; tubs must be kept in the yard.