hmen at home that had been guaranteed to them in the
original Company charter. It seems to be this rather than a planned
attempt to establish self-government in the New World on a scale that
might have been in violation of English law and custom at the time.
Whatever the motive, the significance of this meeting in the church at
Jamestown remains the same. This body of duly chosen representatives of
the people has continued in existence and its evolution leads directly
to our State legislatures and to the Congress of the United States.

Circumstances seemed to prevent the annual meeting of the Assembly even
though this was initially intended. Possibly, although it is not clear,
the Assembly met in March, 1620. There was a session after the arrival
of Governor Wyatt in October, 1621 although little is known of its
actions. The next session of record was in the late winter of 1624 and
of this some papers have survived. At the time the dissolution of the
Company seemed to be sensed and the Burgesses acted carefully. Much of
the session was devoted to answering questions relative to the state of
the Colony. The Assembly went on record, too, denouncing the so-called
autocratic government that existed in Virginia prior to 1619. There was,
however, refusal to associate its name with an attack on the Company and
it would not send its papers to England by the investigating
commissioners. Instead they were sent by a representative of the
Assembly's choice. The status of the General Assembly under the King,
when Virginia became a royal colony, was, for sometime, undefined and
even its continuation was, perhaps, doubtful. It did, nonetheless,
survive to become a chief instrument of government.

In the social field the Company had recognized that homes, children and
family life make for stability and now steps were taken to do something
about it. To this end, in November 1619, a program was launched to
increase the emigration of women to Virginia. Many had already come to
contribute greatly to the Colony's welfare, the first two in 1608; and
family life was already very much a reality. The male percentage of the
population was, however, still much too high.

The first of the "maids" sent in this new program reached Virginia in
late May and early June, 1620 seemingly to the benefit of both "maids"
and eligible bachelors. In 1621 it was reported that in December the
_Warwick_ arrived with "an extraordinary choice lot [of] thirty-eight