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The american history

Some facts about Colonial Virginia
The first settler come to found a colony in North america in 1585 when Walter Raleigh started a settlement. But soon the settlers died of illness. By 1591 all settlers were gone. Jamestown was the first permanent settlement in America. It was founded in 1607. The 104 colonists had come for gold, but soon they found out that they had to work hard if they wanted to survive. Only 53 of 120 settlers survived the first winter. Without the help of Indians noone would have survived at all. The settlers got the right to own land.
The first Partitans arrived in 1621. They had left England, because there King James 1. had taxed their buisness and had been against their religion.

Live in the colonies was hard. There were few food, supplies, many epidemics and people died early. But by the end of the 17th century the colonies had different brading products:
Tobacco (in the north), rice, indigo and cotton (in the south).

Williamsburg
Williamsburg become the capitol of Virginia in 1699. Thomas Jefferson was a ladical law student there.
The town became the political, social and cutural center of the colony.

The Governo's Palace was the home of the royal governors. The colonial parliament met in the capitol when Virginia declared it's independence on May 15th, 1776. In this building Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and George Mason discussed the right of the colonies. And it was here where Patrick Henry called for rebelion with his famous words:
„Give me liberty or give me death.“
Colonial Williamsburg
Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum sponsered by John D. Rockefeller.

The Carter family
The Carter family a dunasty of famous Virginias. In about 1640 John Carter emigrated from England to Virginia, built of the biggest plantations in Virginia and initiated the first slave transports.
His son, Robert 'King' Carter became Governol of Virginia. He had serval wifes and many children.

Slavery
The story of African America in North America began in 1619 when a Dutch battleship brought 20 black men and woman to Jamestown. Up to that point indentured service (with took sseven years) had common. Indentured servicemeans once their agreed working period had come to an end, the slaves were free again.
But it became standard practise for blacks to have to work their whole lives. In 1642 the slavery was officially legalized in Massachusetts, later other states followed.
From this point on blacks were seen and treated a property.The intrested in black labow grew so much among owners of tobacco, cotton and rice plantations that the slave trade between Africa and America became a profitable buisness for while dealos.

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