Virginia

Virginia is one of the original 13 states of the United States that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution and is part of the South. Its official name is the Commonwealth of Virginia; it is one of four states which use the name commonwealth. Virginia was the first part of the Americas to be colonized by England.

History

Among Native American people living in what now is Virginia were the Powhatan, Nottaway, Meherrin, Pohick, Monacan, Saponi and Cherokee.

Related Topics:
Native American - Powhatan - Nottaway - Meherrin - Pohick - Monacan - Saponi - Cherokee

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At the end of the 16th century when England began to colonize North America, "Virginia" was the name Queen Elizabeth I of England (who was known as the "Virgin Queen" because she never married) gave to the whole area explored by the 1584 expedition of Sir Walter Raleigh along the coast of North America, eventually applying to the whole coast from South Carolina to Maine. The London Virginia Company became incorporated as a joint stock company by a proprietary charter drawn up on April 10, 1606. It swiftly financed the first permanent English settlement in the New World which was at Jamestown, named in honor of King James I, in the Virginia Colony in 1607, founded by Captain John Smith. Its Second Charter was officially ratified on May 23, 1609.

Related Topics:
16th century - Elizabeth I of England - 1584 - Walter Raleigh - North America - South Carolina - Maine - London Virginia Company - Joint stock company - April 10 - 1606 - Jamestown - King James I - Virginia Colony - 1607 - Captain John Smith - May 23 - 1609

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Jamestown was the original capital of Virginia Colony, and remained as such until its burning in 1676. After the fire, the colonial capital was moved to nearby Williamsburg, named in honor of William of Orange, King William III. In 1780, during the American Revolutionary War, the capital was moved to Richmond at the urging of then-Governor Thomas Jefferson, who was afraid that Williamsburg's location made it vulnerable to a British attack.

Related Topics:
Williamsburg - King William III - 1780 - American Revolutionary War - Richmond - Governor - Thomas Jefferson - British

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Virginia was given its nickname "The Old Dominion" by King Charles II of England at the time of the Restoration for remaining loyal to the crown during the English Civil War. Patrick Henry served as the first Governor of Virginia, from 1776 to 1779, and again from 1784 to 1786. On June 12, 1776, the Virginia Convention adopted the Virginia Declaration of Rights, a document that influenced the Bill of Rights added later to the United States Constitution. On June 29, 1776, the convention adopted a constitution that established Virginia as a commonwealth independent of the British Empire. In 1790 both Virginia and Maryland ceded territory to form the new District of Columbia, but in an Act of the U.S. Congress dated July 9, 1846, the area south of the Potomac that had been ceded by Virginia was retroceded to Virginia effective 1847, and is now Arlington County and part of the City of Alexandria.

Related Topics:
Charles II of England - English Civil War - Patrick Henry - June 12 - 1776 - Virginia Convention - Virginia Declaration of Rights - Bill of Rights - United States Constitution - June 29 - 1790 - Maryland - District of Columbia - U.S. Congress - July 9 - 1846 - Was retroceded to Virginia - 1847 - Arlington County - City of Alexandria

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Virginia is one of the states that seceded from the Union to become the Confederacy during the Civil War. When it did, some counties were separated as Kanawha (later renamed West Virginia), an act which was upheld by the United States Supreme Court in 1870.

Related Topics:
Seceded - Confederacy - Civil War - Kanawha - West Virginia - United States Supreme Court

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Virginia formally rejoined the Union on January 26, 1870, after a period of post-war military rule.

Related Topics:
January 26 - 1870

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When Douglas Wilder was elected Governor of Virginia on January 13, 1990, he became the first African-American to serve as Governor of a U.S. state since Reconstruction.

Related Topics:
Douglas Wilder - January 13 - 1990 - Reconstruction

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