PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIRST VIRGINIA ASSEMBLY 1619
A faction in the Virginia Company in the year 1618 pushed across several reforms which later resulted in the Great Charter. These are a set of instructions which were sent to George Yeardley, the man who was supposed to begin his term as governor in the year 1619. Yeardley was authorized by officials to be in charge of the selection of two settlers particularly male from every one of the eleven main settlement areas to be present at a General Assembly with the aim of passing laws and if lucky improve management in the colony. The first General Assembly meeting happened from the 30th of July to the 4th of August in a church in Jamestown. This is probably due to the fact that the church was the biggest building at the time. The assembly comprised of the governor, twenty burgesses, and six councilors. During the assembly, the delegates of Captain John Martin were not seated due to the existence of a clause present in his patent which exempted his plantation from colonial authority. In the assembly, the governor had veto power, however; the representatives present were allowed to pass laws. The authority possessed by this self-governing body evolved through the 17th century receiving assistance from some royal governors who would normally convene the Assembly once every year .
During the time of the assembly, the weather was humid and hot and one of the burgess presents lost his life amid the session. However, this did not stop them and they were able to complete some of the items that were on their agenda. The main agenda of the first meeting of the General Assembly was to develop rules for the religious, political, social, and economic activities of the colonists of Jamestown. The establishment of these laws was significant due to several reasons key among them was that they ushered in the division of land. These laws were also significant as they contributed majorly in the establishment of inheritance rights. The laws also enabled movement of servants on behalf of the Burgesses from England as well as other locations. The laws also proved significant as they enabled the regulation of the price of tobacco and assisted in securing the resources required to build a university. The laws changed the treatment of settlers that were caught engaging all types of crimes and social deviance. The assembly additionally regulated the relations of colonists with Native Americans. These incorporated suggestions for setting up schools for Native American kids which would be enabled to teach the kids English as well as cultural and religious ideas. All in all, the establishment of these laws in Virginia was significant because it brought self-government which was nevertheless limited to America .
As indicated above, this first assembly was significant to the Americans as it gave them their first sense of self-government. Therefore, many of these laws would undoubtedly serve more the company and town-owned farms. For instance, there were laws that made the wages for enslaved Africans become much less expensive. Thus small farmers and wealthy farmers alike were able to acquire more slaves as according to them, slaves were the obvious choice in terms of the economy rather than indentured servants. The laws passed were also inadvertently the reason as to why the plantation system grew. The General Assembly was in charge of passing laws which regulated the terms of contracts, and the treatment and behavior of servants. Other than the fact that these laws majorly benefited masters with big farms or long indentures, these laws also limited the rights of servants while at the same time allowing servants to be able to present their complaints in court. These laws served the town and companied-owned farms since the beginning of the 17th century, in Virginia, the number of new servants had greatly reduced, and the labor needs of the colony were met largely by cheap to acquire enslaved Africans .
Since the earliest days, religion always had a crucial part to play in the Virginia colony. The first charters enjoined colonists to continue spreading the Christian religion to native people of the land and these people had to remain faithful to the religion themselves on the threat of being imprisoned. During the first Virginia Assembly, it was decreed that there exist several laws which mandated the observance of the Sabbath. People were also to adhere to the weekly attendance of church and pay taxes to support the clergy and church. Even before the first assembly, there existed some letters patent for Sir George Somers, Sir Thomas, including others before the settlement in Jamestown was created. It was made clear by King James of the religious importance of a colonizing effort such as religion. The chance to bring the Christian religion and thus “civility,†to the native inhabitants was regarded as of great value. Those men acting as representatives who had gathered at the first meeting of the first General Assembly in Virginia extensively dealt with religion. In fact, this groups’ first order of business was leading the Virginians in a prayer. They would later in the session; pass legislation that related to the expression of religion which made it clear that of the extensive connections between the state and church during these years of settlement. The General Assembly ended up enacting several religious laws which are a match for anything that can be located in Puritan societies. Through the first half of the 17th century, there existed many laws pertaining to religion that was enacted by the Jamestown assembly. Some of these laws were very severe. All this shows the extent to which religion played a part in the Virginian government .
Most of the laws laid out were incredibly significant. For instance, one law stated that no mall was allowed to by violence or force take anything away from an Indian aiming to trade. Most of Tidewater Virginia was under the rule of Paramount Chief Powhatan. Relations between his people and the new arrivals during those early years ranged from friendly to tolerant to hostile. Trading without authorization with the native people was prohibited; so was running away to live among these people. The Laws understood the importance of ensuring the relationship possible. Another significant law laid out was one which proclaimed that no man was allowed to blaspheme the name of the Holy God. Every colonist was expected to receive the instructions of religion, show respect for the Trinity, the ministers at Jamestown and the Bible, as well as attend service .
In conclusion, the first General Assembly was a huge event for the people of Virginia. However, one cannot say that all parties were equally or fairly served. These laws majorly benefited masters with big farms or long indentures, these laws also limited the rights of servants while at the same time allowing servants to be able to present their complaints in court. These laws majorly served the plantation owners since the beginning of the 17th century, in Virginia, the number of new servants had greatly reduced, and the labor needs of the colony were met largely by cheap to acquire enslaved Africans. Thus it is safe to say that as much as this was a big move for the people of Virginia, they were not truly effective for all the involved parties.
 
Bibliography
"The Virginia General Assembly Lawmaking in the Nations First Legislature." Virginia Government: Institutions and Policy: 60-76. doi:10.4135/9781506374659.n5.
Whitlock, Matthew. Remembering the Old Dominion: readings on Virginia history. San Diego, CA: Cognella Academic Publishing, 2017.