In 1700, Virginia had 60,000 residents. Fifty years later, it had quadrupled its population. The increase in the number of the white citizens came predominately from an increase of births over deaths. On the other hand, for the blacks, a large percentage of their increase was due to additional entries into the colony, which averaged about 1,000 per year.
In 1726, there were fifty-five parishes to serve the citizens, or about two parishes in each county. Both the counties and the parishes were smaller in the coastal region, where the density of the population was higher. On the western frontier, the counties were immense and often contained only one parish. Of course, this parish was Church of England, as it was the authorized and tax-supported Church. Since it was a law that one attend church, and the distances were great, it became necessary to establish "houses of ease", or "chapels". These chapels had no minister, but attendance at one of them met the requirements. The locations of the churches, and of the county seat, were bitterly fought questions. John Fontaine recorded that, when he was visiting Robert Beverley, they rode seven miles to church. Many inhabitants would have wished that they had such a short ride.
During the early eighteenth century, the population density was put at 20 to 30 persons per square mile. On the western frontier, the density would have been even lower. Visiting one's neighbors was a challenge. For this reason, visits sometimes lasted several days.
How did the people in Virginia view their relationship to Great Britain? Did they think of themselves as English citizens? We do not have many recorded opinions on the subject. People, such as Alexander Spotswood, who was sent out from England to run things in Virginia, tended to the view that the Virginians were children of the English sovereign. Robert Beverley, who did live for a while in England, but lived most of his life in Virginia, thought of himself as a citizen of Virginia, an independent nation which was still subject to oversight from London. He did not describe himself as English, but as a Virginian. Virginians did things in their own way, not in the way that people in England envisioned. This was part of the conflict between Spotswood and the Council in Virginia. Which way were things to be done? The English way or the Virginian way?
As time went by, Spotswood adopted more of the Virginian way of thought. When he came to Virginia, he was a very staunch supporter of the Crown. By the time he left office, twelve years later, he was conniving to take advantage of the Crown. He became very adept at describing actions as good for the Crown, but as a burden to himself. Thus, he describes how his taking up 40,000 acres of land was not for his benefit, but it was done because the King had asked for an increase of production in naval stores. So, he took up the land, not to help himself, but to fulfill the objectives of the King. The free land in Spotsylvania County was going to increase revenues for the King and be a barrier to the French. The beneficiary was the King, not the people who got the free land, such as Spotswood.
(17 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.