The Rev. Hugh Jones, who came from England to take a parish in Virginia, stayed a few years and returned to England in 1722. There he wrote a book, " The Present State of Virginia ", in 1724. He recognized that Virginia had "its own temper and manners". He recognized that people, such as himself, had to adjust to different circumstances.
His description of Virginia centered on the tobacco trade which dominated the thinking of nearly all Virginians. The tobacco trade, in combination with the river system, dominated the mechanics of how and where people lived. He noted the close bonds between the merchant who bought the tobacco, the ship owner, and the supplier of goods from England. Very often all three functions were present in one person. A purchaser of goods in Virginia paid no freight on his goods from England, but he was bound in gratitude to freight his tobacco back on the same ship.
Physically, Jones was very impressed by the woods and by the lack of towns. "The whole country is a perfect forest, except where the woods are cleared for plantations." Jones heartily approved that the gentry were beginning to use bricks to build their houses. He noted the common planters were building pretty timber houses. Blacks, he observed, lived in small cottages.
Though Virginia had its own way of doing things, it was dependent for its prosperity on the export of a staple to the parent society, and on the importation of manufactured articles. With material dependence came also cultural and psychological dependence. With the goods, came tastes, standards, and a whole set of assumptions about the proper way of living.
The main features that Jones discovered may be reduced to two: easy access to and from the sea along natural waterways that ran deep into the country itself, and the disposition of the leading inhabitants to exploit the situation by settling strategically "near some landing place". The roads and bridges were built to send tobacco to the water network so they could be sent to England and goods received in return.
In the courthouses, affairs were regulated and disputes were settled according to forms only slightly different from English law and ways. The general dignity and decorum evident at Williamsburg were a reassurance of the colony's progress, according to Jones. These were marks of civilized improvements according to him.
It seems to me that our Germans would not have fit easily into this structure. First, they were voiceless by language and by the size of their operation. Second, they were remote from Williamsburg, both physically and psychologically. They had special problems in accessing markets, which required a special effort.
(01 Jun 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.