The Virginia Company Of London, 1606-1624Craven, Wesley Frank
History
The Virginia Company Of London, 1606-1624
Craven, Wesley Frank
Virginia -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775; Virginia Company of London
By the spring of 1621, when the bulk of the college funds had been
expended and the lottery was terminated, Sir Edwin's financial
resources had become even more skimpy and uncertain. Some projects,
such as that for the settlement of Italian glass-workers who were to
manufacture pottery and beads for use in the Indian trade, could be
financed by subscriptions to a special joint-stock, but this device
offered no help in meeting general expenses. As a result, Sandys
continued to take certain shortcuts, or perhaps the blame should rest
rather on Deputy John Ferrar. In any case, the colonists complained
that shipping came out so overloaded with passengers as to invite the
epidemic disease with which they usually suffered on landing, and which
made of newcomers a useless burden on the colony for some time after
their arrival. The deathrate among the colonists continued to be high.
The time and energy required to house them, or to feed them,
unavoidably forced delay with projects on which Sandys had pinned his
chief hopes. He was especially disappointed over the slow progress of
agricultural experimentation. Accordingly, when Yeardley's three year
term was ended in 1621 and Sir Francis Wyatt was sent as his
replacement, Sir Edwin also sent his brother, George Sandys, as
appointee to a new office of treasurer. He was given special charge of
all projects looking to the development of new staple commodities and
was intrusted with the collection of rents, of which the company
claimed L1,000 were presently due. These rents, which were to be
collected largely from half-share tenants who had migrated within the
preceding three years, undoubtedly now constituted the company's main
hope for an immediate revenue. Except in a very few instances, no
quitrents would be payable until 1625, and so general had been the
disappointment experienced so far with special projects that further
time would have to be allowed before any return from them could be
expected. In short, the company had exhausted its very limited
resources in getting Wyatt and George Sandys out to Virginia, and had
nothing left but hopes for the future and the anticipation of a small
immediate revenue from the rents of its own tenants, most of which had
already been assigned to such special charges as the support of public
officers in the colony. In London, virtually the only asset left to the
company was the will and determination of Sir Edwin Sandys.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account