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"Then came, Oscar, the time of the guns.
And there was no land for a man, no land for a country,
| | | Lawes Divine, Morall and Martiall of the Colony of Virginea | |
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< | Executed by King James I in 1606, the first charter of the Virginia colony reserved the territory reaching from modern day South Carolina to Canada -- "that part of America commonly called Virginia" -- to the dominion of the King, and granted land use rights to the colonists. The charter extended basic English common law, "all liberties, franchises and immunities within anie (sic) of our other dominions," to the residents of Virginia. It granted them the right to import armor, weapons and munitions to be used in defense of the colony, and empowered them to use force to expel any intruders or foreigners. The first charter (and subsequent revisions) remained in force until it 1609, when it was incorporated into the first colony's first comprehensive set of laws.
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> | Executed by King James I in 1606, the first charter of the Virginia colony reserved the territory reaching from modern day South Carolina to Canada -- "that part of America commonly called Virginia" -- to the dominion of the King, and granted land use rights to the colonists. The charter extended basic English common law, "all liberties, franchises and immunities within anie (sic) of our other dominions," to the residents of Virginia. It granted them the right to import armor, weapons and munitions to be used in defense of the colony, and empowered them to use force to expel any intruders or foreigners. The first charter (and subsequent revisions) remained in force until it 1609, when it was incorporated into the first colony's first comprehensive set of laws.
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< | The "Lawes Divine, Morall and Martiall of the Colony of Virginea Britannia" were issued to satisfy the shareholders of the Virginia Company as much as they were to govern the colony of Virginia. The laws reflect the conditions of a harsh and disciplined lifestyle, of a colony struggling to survive. Resources were scarce; colonists could face death for bartering or trading with Indians, or for giving or selling any commodity to a mariner to be transported out of the country. Comprising the vast majority of the statutes, the Martial Laws depict a strict, Spartan society in which a soldier would be "put to death with such Armes he carry" for a whole host of infractions -- from failing to report for marching duty, to losing one's arms in battle, to mutiny. Drawing a sword within a town or garrison was punishable by the amputation of the right hand; firing a gun any place without order from a superior officer was punishable by death It was forbidden for a man to "sell, give, imbezzell, or play away his Armes, or any part thereof, upon paine of death." These early statutes reveal many of the major themes that will later dominate the laws of the Virginia Colony - strict and severe control of soldiers, a fear of Indians and foreigners, and the tight regulation of arms.
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> | The "Lawes Divine, Morall and Martiall of the Colony of Virginea Britannia" were issued to satisfy the shareholders of the Virginia Company as much as they were to govern the colony of Virginia. The laws reflect the conditions of a harsh and disciplined lifestyle, of a colony struggling to survive. Resources were scarce; colonists could face death for bartering or trading with Indians, or for giving or selling any commodity to a mariner to be transported out of the country. Comprising the vast majority of the statutes, the Martial Laws depict a strict, Spartan society in which a soldier would be "put to death with such Armes he carry" for a whole host of infractions -- from failing to report for marching duty, to losing one's arms in battle, to mutiny. Drawing a sword within a town or garrison was punishable by the amputation of the right hand; firing a gun any place without order from a superior officer was punishable by death It was forbidden for a man to "sell, give, imbezzell, or play away his Armes, or any part thereof, upon paine of death." These early statutes reveal many of the major themes that will later dominate the laws of the Virginia Colony - strict and severe control of soldiers, a fear of Indians and foreigners, and the tight regulation of arms.
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| | | [*** How armed?
"Hee shall not suffer in his Garrison any Souldier to enter into Guard, or to bee drawne out into the field without being armed according to the Marshals order, which is, that every shot shall either be furnished with a quilted coate of Canvas, a headpeece, and a sword, or else with a light Armor, and Bases quilted, with which hee shall be furnished: and every Targiteer with his Bases to the small of his legge, and his headpeece, sword and pistoll, or Scuppet provided for that end. And likewise every Officer armed as before, with a firelocke, or Snaphaunse, headpeece, and a Target, onely the Serjeant in Garrison shall use his Halbert, and in field his Snaphaunse and Target." (p32)*] |
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