History of Virginia

The founders of Virginia hoped to make money.  John Smith was hired by The Virginia Company of London to run the new settlement.  John Smith and his settlers were looking for gold, as well as land to build a new colony.       The government of the Virginia Colony was made up of mostly white men who owned land.  They were able to vote representatives to the House of Burgesses.        The Virginia colony relied heavily on the slave population to work on the many farms in Virginia.  They grew corn, tobacco and other products.