with a part of his people, and the company was in the hands of his
opponents. Looking upon it as a "seminary of sedition," King James secured
(1624) the destruction of the charter, and Virginia became a royal
province. [8]

STATE OF THE COLONY IN 1624.--The colony of Virginia when deprived of its
charter was a little community of some four thousand souls, scattered in
plantations on and near the James River. Let us go back to those times and
visit one of the plantations. The home of the planter is a wooden house
with rough-hewn beams and unplaned boards, surrounded by a high stockade.
Near by are the farm buildings and the cabins of his bond servants. His
books, his furniture, his clothing and that of his family, have all come
from England. So also have the farming implements and very likely the
greater part of his cows and pigs. On his land are fields of wheat and
barley and Indian corn; but the chief crop is tobacco. [9]

EFFECTS OF TOBACCO PLANTING.--As time passed and the Virginians found that
the tobacco always brought a good price in England, they made it more and
more the chief crop. This powerfully affected the whole character of the
colony. It drew to Virginia a better class of settlers, who came over to
grow rich as planters. It led the people to live almost exclusively on
plantations, and prevented the growth of large towns. Tobacco became the
currency of the colony, and salaries, wages, and debts were paid, and
taxes levied, and wealth and income estimated, in pounds of tobacco.

FEW ROADS IN VIRGINIA.--As there were few towns, [10] so there were few
roads. The great plantations lay along the river banks. It was easy,
therefore, for a planter to go on visits of business or pleasure in a
sailboat or in a barge rowed by his servants. The fine rivers and the
location of the plantations along their banks enabled each planter to have