Royal Colony

In 1644 Opechancanough again led an Indian attack on the colony; about 500 settlers were killed. The colony, however, was strong enough to withstand the attack and went on to flourish and to expand westward. By the mid-17th century, the population was about 15,000, including 300 blacks.

For the first few decades after becoming a royal colony, Virginia remained relatively free of interference from England, mainly because the mother country was preoccupied by internal political and religious conflicts. In 1660, however, England enacted the Navigation Act, which put restrictions on colonial trade and caused economic hardships in Virginia. As a result, political antagonism began to develop between Virginians and the mother country. There was also growing hostility between the politically dominant planter class (the "Tidewater aristocracy") and the small farmers on the frontier. In 1676 Nathaniel Bacon led frontiersmen in a rebellion against the autocratic rule of Lieutenant Governor William Berkeley.

In 1699 the seat of government was moved from Jamestown 11 miles (18 km) inland to Middle Plantation, which was renamed Williamsburg in honor of King William III. Virginia had been the most populous of the British colonies in North America since its founding; by 1715 it had a population of approximately 72,500 whites and 23,000 black slaves. During the administration of Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotswood (1710–22), westward expansion was encouraged; a peace treaty was negotiated with the Indians; and Williamsburg became the political, educational, and cultural center of Virginia.

With the start of the second quarter of the 18th century, Virginia entered a period of economic prosperity and cultural development. It was also a time of growing dissatisfaction with English rule, as the government in England began to exert increased authority over the colony.

Westward expansion had brought the colony into conflict with Indians on the frontier and also with the French, who claimed part of the western land. Virginia took an active part in the French and Indian War (1754–63), in which British soldiers and American colonists defeated the French and put an end to France's dream of establishing an empire in North America.