Sir William Berkeley (; 16059 July 1677) was a colonial governor of Virginia, and one of the Lords Proprietors of the Colony of Carolina. As governor of Virginia, he implemented policies that bred dissent among the colonists and sparked

Bacon's Rebellion Bacon's Rebellion was an armed rebellion held by Virginia settlers that took place from 1676 to 1677. It was led by Nathaniel Bacon against Colonial Governor William Berkeley, after Berkeley refused Bacon's request to drive Native American ...

. A

favourite A favourite (British English) or favorite (American English) was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In post-classical and early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated s ...

of King Charles I, the king first granted him the governorship in 1642. Berkeley was unseated following the execution of Charles I, and has his governorship restored by King Charles II in 1660. Charles II also named Berkeley one of the eight Lords Proprietors of Carolina, in recognition of his loyalty to the Stuarts during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

. As governor, Berkeley oversaw the passage of many of Virginia's most restrictive laws governing

enslaved people Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, including the 1662 slave code that determined slavery to be inheritable through the condition of the mother. As proprietor of Green Spring Plantation in James City County, he experimented with activities such as growing silkworms as part of his efforts to expand the tobacco-based economy. He was the author of ''Discourse and View of Virginia,'' where he argued for diversifying the colony's tobacco economy.

Early life

Berkeley was born in 1605 in

Bruton Bruton ( ) is a market town, electoral ward, and civil parish in Somerset, England, on the River Brue and the A359 between Frome and Yeovil. It is 7 miles (11 km) south-east of Shepton Mallet, just south of Snakelake Hill and Coombe Hill, 10 ...

, Somersetshire to Maurice Berkeley (died 1617) and Elizabeth Killigrew, of the Bruton branch of the Berkeley family, both of whom held stock in the

Virginia Company of London The London Company, officially known as the Virginia Company of London, was a division of the Virginia Company with responsibility for colonizing the east coast of North America between latitudes 34° and 41° N. History Origins The territor ...

. Referred to as "Will" by his family and friends,Billings, Warren M ''Sir William Berkeley and the Forging of Colonial Virginia'', Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 2004 he was born in the winter of 1605 into landed gentry. His father died when he was twelve and, though indebted, left Berkeley land in Somerset. His elder brother was John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton. Young Berkeley showed signs of a quick wit and broad learning. His informal education consisted of observing his elders; from them he learned "the moves that governed the larger English society and his privileged place in it". Also, as part of the English country gentry, he was aware of agricultural practices, knowledge which would influence his actions as governor of Virginia. Though his father died in debt, Berkeley secured a proper education. He entered grammar school at about six or seven years old where he became literate in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and English. At eighteen, like the other Berkeley men, he entered Oxford. He began his studies at Queen's College in the footsteps of his forebears, but quickly transferred to St. Edmund Hall, a "throwback to medieval times". He received, though not necessarily completed, a B.A. in fifteen months of his arrival at the Hall. All undergraduates at St. Edmund Hall received a personal tutor. While the identity of Berkeley's tutor is unsure, his effect upon the boy showed through William's "disciplined intellect and steady appetite for knowledge". In 1632, he gained a place in the household of Charles I. That position gave him entré into a court literary circle known as "The Wits". Berkeley wrote several plays, one of which—''The Lost Lady: A Tragy Comedy''—was performed for Charles I and

Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She was ...

and was published in 1638. It is also included in the first and fourth editions of Dodsley's ''Old Plays'', and ''A Description of Virginia'' (1663). Soldiering in the First and Second Bishops' Wars (1639–1640) gained Berkeley a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...

.Billings, Warren M
"Sir William Berkeley"
','' Virtual Jamestown, 30 March 2009.

First administration as governor

Berkeley replaced Sir Francis Wyatt as governor of Virginia in 1641. He was governor of the colony of Virginia from 1641–1652 and 1660–1677. Berkeley's main initiative when he first became governor was to encourage diversification of Virginia's agricultural products. He accomplished this through passing laws and by setting himself up as an example for planters. Arriving at Jamestown in 1642, Berkeley erected Green Spring House on a tract of land west of the capital, where he experimented with alternatives to tobacco. It was at Green Spring that he planted such diverse crops as corn, wheat, barley, rye, rape eed tobacco, oranges, lemons, grapes, sugar and silk. Berkeley devoted much of his time as a planter to experimenting with alternatives to tobacco; although he always produced the crop, he "despised" it. As a planter, with Virginia in mind, Berkeley constantly attempted to determine the best crops for the state through trial and error. Berkeley produced flax, fruits, potash, silk, and spirits which he exported through a commercial network that joined Green Spring to markets in North America, the West Indies, Great Britain, and Holland. Upon the recommendation of several of his slaves, Berkeley became a successful rice farmer. They were familiar with its cultivation from their native West Africa. He owned Boldrup Plantation.

English Civil War and Commonwealth

When the parliamentarians were successful, Berkeley offered an asylum in Virginia to gentlemen of the royalist side. After the king was beheaded also dispatched his secretary of state

Richard Lee I Richard Lee I (1618 – 1 March 1664) (later nicknamed "The Immigrant") was the first member of the Lee family to live in America (although he also considered himself an English gentleman). Poor when he arrived in Virginia in 1639 on a ship w ...

to the Netherlands to secure an extension of his office from the Crown Prince. That document proved worthless because Parliament dispatched a small fleet to the colony, and the governor, unable to offer resistance, was ultimately forced to resign his authority. However, Lee negotiated terms such that Berkeley received permission to remain on his own plantation as a private person. ' At the monarchy's Restoration, Berkeley was reappointed governor.

Second administration as governor

For Berkeley, the path towards Virginia's prosperity was fourfold: a diverse economy; free trade; a close-knit colonial society; and autonomy from London. He proceeded to turn this thought into action in various ways. In order to support a diversified economy and free trade, for instance, he used his own plantation as an example. Virginia's autonomy from London was supported in the General Assembly's role in the colony's governance. The Assembly was, in effect, a "miniature Parliament". The colony's autonomy from London was also advocated by Berkeley in his efforts against the revival of the Virginia Company of London. Berkeley was "bitterly hostile" to Virginia's

Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

and

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

. In an attempt to oppress them, Berkeley helped enact a law to "preserve the Established Church's he Church of EnglandUnity and purity of doctrine". It punished any minister who preached outside the teachings and doctrine of this church, thus oppressing Puritans, Quakers, and any other religious minority.Bruce, Phillip Alexander, LL.D. ''Institutional History of Virginia in the Seventeenth Century''. Vol. 1 (of 2 vols), Gloucester: G.P. Putnam's Son's, 1964. Berkeley strongly opposed public education. Though he was unable to foresee the eventual establishment of such schools, he held that they would bring "disobedience, heresy, and sects into the world," and were for such reasons destructive to society. He also held printing at the same level as public education.

Bacon's Rebellion and downfall

Berkeley's downfall came with the advent of his second term. He returned from retirement in 1660 due to the early death of Governor Samuel Mathews. At his return, Berkeley appealed to England for financial support of Virginia's economy. Charles II denied Berkeley's appeal "in favour of free trade". In 1675, Berkeley appointed Nathaniel Bacon, his wife's nephew, to Virginian high office. This was uncharacteristic of Berkeley, and may have shown signs of withering competence as governor. Slow to respond to Indian attacks, Berkeley was viewed as incompetent, making his authority easy to undermine. Disagreements over Indian policy led Bacon to rebel against Berkeley. Bacon accepted command of an illegal troop of Indian fighters and disregarded the governor's warning against leading the volunteers. "He declared Bacon a rebel, dissolved the General Assembly, and promised to remedy any complaints the voters had with him." Bacon unexpectedly led 500 armed men into Jamestown and compelled the frightened legislators to appoint him general before he marched away in search of the Indians. His extortion of a general's commission turned a dispute over Indian policy into a duel to the death over who would control Virginia: Bacon or Berkeley. "Berkeley defeated Bacon's invaders, which enabled him to return to the western shore and to retake his capital. Once reports of the revolt reached London, the crown sent 1,000 redcoats, ships, and a commission to crush Bacon. There was nothing for the troops to do because Berkeley had regained the upper hand. The rebellion ended before they arrived in January 1677. The

Treaty of 1677 The Treaty of 1677 (also known as the Treaty Between Virginia And The Indians 1677 or Treaty of Middle Plantation) was signed in Virginia on May 28, 1677, between the English Crown and representatives from various Virginia Native American tribes ...

, the formal peace treaty between the Indians and the colonists, was signed on 29 May 1677, after Berkeley returned to England."

Death

Berkeley died in Berkeley House, Mayfair, England, on 9 July 1677, and he was "buried half a world away from the place that had become his home" in the crypt of

St Mary's Church, Twickenham St Mary's Church, Twickenham, also known as St Mary the Virgin, Twickenham, is a Grade II* listed Church of England place of worship dedicated to Saint Mary the Virgin. It is on Church Street, Twickenham in the London Borough of Richmond upon T ...

, where there is a memorial window to him and his brother, Lord Berkeley.Billings (2010), p. 268

Notes

References

External links

Friends of Green Spring
a large interactive web site with streaming video and more than a dozen essays ("The voices of Green Spring")

by Warren M. Billings at Virtual Jamestown
Sir William Berkeley
at ''

Encyclopedia Virginia Virginia Humanities (VH), formerly the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, is a humanities council whose stated mission is to develop the civic, cultural, and intellectual life of the Commonwealth of Virginia by creating learning opportunities f ...

'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Berkeley, William 1605 births 1677 deaths Alumni of St Edmund Hall, Oxford American planters

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

Burials at St Mary's Church, Twickenham Cavaliers Colonial governors of Virginia Lords Proprietors of Carolina People from Bruton American slave owners Knights Bachelor