The Stronghold: A Story of Historic Northern Neck of Virginia and Its PeopleHaynie, Miriam
History
The Stronghold: A Story of Historic Northern Neck of Virginia and Its People
Haynie, Miriam
Northern Neck (Va.)
The custom of Market Day, which was a form of the English fair, was
brought to Virginia by the colonists. In 1649 it was decided to hold
markets every week in Jamestown, on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
The Assembly decided in 1655 to establish one or more market-places in
each county. These were to be located on a river or creek, and all the
trade of the surrounding country was to be concentrated at these places.
Imported articles were to be brought from certain ports to each market
place. Here were to be built the court-house, prison, offices of the
clerk and sheriff, ordinaries and churches. Nothing seems to have come
of this attempt.
Again, about 1679, certain places were designated as public marts, to
which all the Indians who were at peace with the white settlers were
invited to come, one day in the spring and one day in autumn. A
government clerk was to keep records of all the trading which took place
at each mart.
One of these marts was situated in Lancaster County, and another in
Stafford. In Northumberland, the Wicocomico Indians were to be permitted
to trade with the English under special regulations adopted by the
authorities in that county.
The purpose of these market places was to encourage the building of
towns, but the attempts were all unsuccessful. The settlers preferred
their independent way of life on the plantations.
_THE OLD DOMINION_
In May, 1660, Charles II returned to England by invitation of a new
Parliament. Cromwell was dead and his son and successor, "Tumbledown
Dick," had abdicated.
Charles rode into London, where the streets were dressed with green
boughs and the windows hung with tapestry in his honor. Since everyone
was so glad to see him he wondered why he had stayed away so long.
When the Virginians heard the news they went wild with joy!
Sir William Berkeley already had control of the Virginia government
again. The Assembly at Jamestown had foreseen the restoration of the
king and they had called Sir William back from his self-imposed exile at
his plantation, Green Spring, in March, 1660--two months before Charles
was actually crowned King of England.
It took four months for the news of the restoration to reach Virginia.
In September, Sir William issued a command that the news be proclaimed
in every county in Virginia.
This was what the Virginians had been waiting for and they celebrated in
their typical way--by drinking healths and by making every kind of noise
that they could contrive to make.
Hundreds of pounds of tobacco were exchanged for barrels of gunpowder
and kegs of cider. In some places "ye trumpeters" were paid as much as
eight hundred pounds of tobacco for their music, and at least one
minister was paid five hundred pounds of tobacco for a service of
thanksgiving.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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