I thought we might step back in time to the early eighteenth century and take a look at Virginia. Our guide for this trip will be Rhys Isaac in " The Transformation of Virginia, 17401790 ." This book won a Pulitzer Prize in History. ("Pulitzer" has the earmarks of a good Germanic name.)
Water and trees (or trees and water, take your choice as to which was primary) were the features that dominated the impressions of a visitor from Europe in 1700 who reached the Virginia coast, or even sailed up one of the four major rivers that drained Virginia into the Atlantic Ocean. Trees dominated the landscape, and it took a major effort to remove them and to keep them removed. Road building was an effort to be avoided and, with the rivers, who needed roads? The Rev. Jones commented that goods could be shipped more easily from London to a Virginia plantation on a river, than the goods could be shipped five miles out of London.
The early explorers soon discovered that this landscape could be divided into three regions, the Tidewater, the Piedmont, and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Tidewater elevations were low, and the streams flowed easily through these regions. The rivers were deep enough for ocean going vessels to pass well into the interior. The name Tidewater comes, I believe, from the fact that the ocean tides could be detected in the rivers throughout the region. It is said that the soil was sandy enough that horses did not need to be shod.
This Tidewater region ran from the ocean to the Piedmont, where the country side changed. The principal characteristic marking the boundary between these two was the line of the falls in the rivers. This line was just above Washington, Fredericksburg, and Richmond, or roughly where the I-95 Interstate road is now located. These rocky falls stopped all ocean navigation. To the west, rolling hills commenced and the streams moved more quickly. Ultimately these foothills culminated in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Beyond, or to the west of the Blue Ridge, was an unknown territory.
In the first hundred years of Virginia’s history, all development took place in the Tidewater region, which had the advantage of the easiest transportation. In 1700, about 60,000 people were spread out in the Tidewater in the three necks or land regions between the river systems. The neck between the Potomac and the Rappahannock had a unique history. It was called the Northern Neck, and in 1700 it belonged to one family.
The density of people was quite low, with only 60,000 people in this vast Tidewater region. But little land remained to be taken up by private individuals. Any one individual could only be responsible for about five acres, if it was intensively cultivated. The two major cultivated crops were corn and tobacco. About 85 percent of these people were Europeans, i.e., from Great Britain, as free men and bonded servants. The remaining 15 percent were from Africa, nearly all of whom were in indefinite servitude.
(14 May 01)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.