After his arrival in Jamestown in 1619, Governor George Yeardley immediately gave notice that the Virginia colony would establish a legislative assembly. This assembly, the House of Burgesses, first met on July 30, 1619.

Spain and France had absolute monarchies, but Britain had a limited monarchy. In New France and New Spain, all authority flowed from the Crown to the settlers, with no input from below.

The English kings who ruled the 13 original colonies reserved the right to decide the fate of their colonies as well, but not alone. The colonists drew upon their claims to traditional English rights and insisted on raising their own representative assemblies. Such was the case with the VIRGINIA HOUSE OF BURGESSES, the first popularly elected legislature in the New World.

	But forasmuch as men's affaires doe litle prosper where God's service is neglected, all the Burgesses tooke their places in the Quire till a prayer was said by Mr. Bucke, the Minister, that it would please God to guide and sanctifie all our proceedings to his own glory and the good of this Plantation ... The Speaker ... delivered in briefe to the whole assembly the occasions of their meeting. Which done he read unto them the commission for establishing the Counsell of Estate and the general Assembly, wherein their duties were described to the life ... And forasmuch as our intente is to establish one equall and uniforme kinde of government over all Virginia &c.          –John Pory, "A Reporte of the Manner of Proceeding in the General Assembly Convented at James City" (July 30, 1619)

The Magna Carta

Modeled after the English Parliament, the House of Burgesses was established in 1619. Members would meet at least once a year with their royal governor to decide local laws and determine local taxation.

The House of Burgesses, the first legislative assembly in the American colonies, held its first meeting in the choir at Jamestown Church in the summer of 1619. Its first order of business: setting a minimum price for the sale of tobacco.

Democracy in Practice

Historians often ponder why the American Revolution was successful. The French, Russian, and Chinese Revolutions each ended with a rise to power of a leader more autocratic than the pre-revolutionary monarch.

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Who attempted the first voyage to the New World for England in 1583? Sir Francis Drake John Smith Sir Humphrey Gilbert Sir Walter Raleigh What was Sir Walter Raleigh's short-lived English colony in the New World? Roanoke Jamestown Raleigh Plymouth What name was given to the first baby of English heritage born in the New World? Elizabeth Smith Henry Tudorville Virginia Dare Pocahontas What was the first joint-stock company to launch a venture to the New World? The British East India Company The Church of England The Dutch East India Company The Virginia Company of London What was the first permanent English settlement in the New World? Jamestown Plymouth Roanoke Philadelphia What was John Smith's motto? "Eat, drink, and be merry." "Work or starve." "All work and no play makes men dull." "An eye for an eye." Which of the following ventures did Virginia settlers NOT attempt? Coffee cultivation Tobacco Glassblowing Silk Worms Who was the leader of the Algonquian peoples after Powhatan died in 1618? Opechancanough Pocahontas Massasoit Squanto What was the first legislative assembly in the colonies? The Continental Congress Parliament The Mayflower Compact The House of Burgesses

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