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VIRGINIA COUNCIL. "INSTRUCCIONS ORDERS AND CONSTITUCIONS … TO SR THOMAS GATES KNIGHT GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA"
May, 1609
Instructions, orders and constitucions by way of advise sett downe, declared and propounded to Sir Thomas Gates, Knight, Governor of Virginia and of the Colony there planted and to be planted, and of all the inhabitants thereof, by us His Majesties Counsell for the direction of the affaires of that countrey for his better disposinge and proceedinge in the government thereof accordinge to the authority and power given unto us by virtue of His Majesties lettres patents.
1. Havinge considered the greate sufficiency and zealous affection which you, Sir Thomas Gates, have many waies manifested unto us, and havinge therefore by our Commission under our hands and seales constituted and ordained you to be the Governor of Virginia, wee His Majesties Counsell for that plantacion, have consulted and advised uppon divers instructions for your safer and more deliberate proceedinge therein; and therefore doe requier and charge you, accordinge to the Comission in that behalf directed unto you, presently with all convenient speede to take the charge and of our fleete consistinge of eight good shippes and one pinnace and of sixe hundred land men to be transported under your commaund, and with the first winde to sett saile for Virginia. And in your passage thither you shall not land nor touch any of the Kinge of Spaines his Dominions quetly possessed, without the leave or licence of the governor of such place as you shal by accident or contrary windes be forced into. You shall also hold counsell with the masters and pilotts and men of the best experience what way is safest and fittest for you to take, because we hold it daungerous that you should keepe the old course of Dominico and Meins lest you fall into the hand of the Spaniard, who may attend in that roade ready to intercept you:
2. When it shall please God that you have safely attained the Kings River, and our porte and seate of James Towne in Virginia, wee advise you to call by proclamacion into some publique place, all the governors, officers, and other His Majesties subjects aswell already seated there as transported with you, to whom you shall cause your Commission to be directly reade, whereby significacion may be had of His Majesties pleasure in establishinge you the Governor of that countrey and plantacion, and the President, Councell and Colony there may take notice of the revocacion of that fourme of governement by the first lettres patents constituted and confirmed, and accordingly yeald due obedience unto you, their Governor.
3. You shall demaund then and resume into your hands the former lettres pattents and all instruccions & publique instruments given or sent unto them and all bookes and records whatsoever of the generall proceedings untill this time, and dispose of them in the future accordinge to your discrecion.
4. Beinge setled in your government, you shall call unto you, for your further advise and graver proceedinge, their principall officers and gentlemen whom we do ordaine and appointe to be of the Councell and who for earliness of their undertakings and their greate paines and merits doe well deserve this honor & respect from us: Sir George Summers, Knight, and Admirall of Virginia; Captaine John Smith, nowe President; Captaine John Radclif; Captaine Peter Winne, Seirjant Major of the fort; Mr. Mathewe Scrivenor, whom out of our good experience of his abilities in that kinde we doe name and appointe to be Secretary of that Councell; Captaine John Martine; Captaine Richard Waldoe, master of the workes; Captaine Woode; and Mr. Fleetwoode, whom we assure ourselves you will use with all good respecte in their places and to whome wee expecte that you shall give such other preferrements as their former paines have deserved, and in all matters of importance we require you to call them to consultacion and to proceede therein with their advice; and wee doe give further power and authority to you, to give the oathe of Counsellor to such as are now named, or any other oathe in the like case, accordinge to your direccion. Provided that they shall not have, single nor together, anie bindinge or negative voice or power uppon your conclusions but doe give you full authority, uppon just occasion to sequester any of them from the execucion of any place whatsover, and to depute another thereunto untill significacion unto us be here made:
5. You shall have power and authority to dispose and graunte any other officer or commaunds whatsoever, either of governement or warr, except such as are already disposed of by us to any persons of rancke or merite (adventurers beings first regarded), accordinge to your discrecion and so discharge or revoke the same or to sequester any so made or constituted by us.
6. You shall take principall order and care for the true and reverent worship of God that his worde be duely preached and his holy sacraments administred accordinge to the constitucions of the Church of England in all fundamentall pointes, and his ministers had in due observance and respecte agreeable to the dignity of their callinge. And that all atheisme, prophanes, popery, or schisme be exemplarily punished to the honor of God and to the peace and safety of his Church, over which, in this tendernes and infancy, you must be especially solicitous & watchefull.
7. You shall, with all propensenes and diligence, endeavour the conversion of the natives to the knowledge and worship of the true God and their redeemer Christ Jesus, as the most pious and noble end of this plantacion, which the better to effect you must procure from them some convenient nomber of their children to be brought up in your language and manners, and if you finde it convenient, we thinke it reasonable you first remove from them their Iniocasockes or Priestes by a surprise of them all and detaininge them prisoners, for they are so wrapped up in the fogge and miserie of their iniquity and so tirrified with their continuall tirrany, chained under the bond of deathe unto the divell that while they live amounge them to poison and infecte them their mindes, you shall never make any great progres into this glorious worke, nor have any civill peace or concurre with them. And in case of necessity or conveniency, we pronounce it not crueltie nor breache of charity to deale more sharpely with them and to proceede even to dache [death?] with these murtherers of soules and sacrificers of God's images to the divill, referringe the consideracion of this as a waighty matter of important consequence to the circumstances of the busines and place in your discrecion.
8. You shall for capitall and criminal justice in case of rebellion and mutiny and in all such cases of [provident (?)] necessity, proceede by martiall lawe accordinge to your comission as of most dispatch and terror and fittest for this governement; and in all other causes of that nature as also in all matters of civill justice, you shall finde it properest and usefullest for your governement to proceede rather as a chauncelor than as a judge, rather uppon the naturall right and equity then uppon the nicenes and lettre of the lawe which perplexeth in this tender body, rather then dispatcheth all causes so that a summary and arbitrary way of justice discreetely mingled with those gravities and fourmes of magistracy as shall in your discrecion seeme aptest for you and that place, wilbe of most use both for expedicion and for example:
9. You shall for the more regard and respect of your place, to begett reverence to your authority and to refresh their mindes that obey the gravity of those lawes under which they were borne; at your discrecion use such fourmes and ensignes of governement as by our lettres pattents wee are enabled to grant unto you; as also the attendance of a guarde uppon your person, and in all such like cases you shall have power to make, adde or distinguishe any lawes or ordinances at your discrecion accordinge to the authority limited in your comission.
10. You shall, for the choice of plantacions observe two generall rulles: that you rather seeke to the sun then from it, which is under God the first cause both of health and riches; and that such places which you resolve to build and inhabite uppon have at the leaste one good outlett into the sea & fresh water to the land; that it be a dry and wholesome earth and as free from woode as possiblie you may, whereby you may have roome to discover about you and unshady ground to plant nere you.
11. You must in every plantacion principally provide of your owne a common graunge and storehowse of corne, besides that which you will obtaine by tribute or trade with the natives.
12. In the distribucion of your men accordinge to these advises and relacions which wee have receaved, we advise you to continue the plantacion at James Towne with a convenient nomber of men, but not as your situacion or citty, because the place is unwholsome and but in the marish of Virginia, and to keepe it onely as a fitt porte for your shippes to ride before to arive and unlade att; butt neither shall you make it your principall storehowse or magazin either of armes, victualls or goods, but because it is so accessable with shippinge that an enemy may be easily uppon you with all the provision of ordinance and municion and it is not to be expected that anie fortificacion there can endure an enemy that hath the leasure to sitt downe before it.
13. The place you chose for your principall residence and seate to have your catle, provisions of corne, foode, and magazin of other municion in, as your greatest strength, trust and retraite, must be removed some good distance from any navigable river, except with small boates, by which no enemy shall dare to seeke your habitacion; and if in this place some good fortificacion be made to which no ordinance can be brought by water, if you be provided of victuall, you may dispute possession till a straunger be wearied and starved.
14. Above the over falles of the Kinges River it is likely you shall finde some convenient place to this purpose whither no enemy with ease can approache nor with ordinance at all but by land, with at howe greate disadvauntage he shall seeke when he must discover and fight at once uppon straightes, in woodes, at foordes, and places of all inconveniency, is easy to be considered; besides, you shall have the commodity of the braunche of the river to bringe downe your provisions from within the land in canooes and smalle boates in the River of Chechehounnack, neere unto you and not farre of another navagable outlett into the sea by the River of Pamaouke.
15. Foure dayes journey from your forte southewards is a towne called Ohonahorn seated where the River of Choanocki devideth it self into three braunches and falleth into the sea of Rawnocke in thirtie five degrees; this place, if you seeke by Indian guides from James forte to Winocke by water, from thence to Manqueocke, some twenty miles from thence to Caththega, as much and from thence to Oconahoen, you shall finde a brave and fruiteful seate every way unaccessable by a straunger enemy, much more abundant in pochon and in the grasse silke called Cour del Cherva and in vines, then any parte of this land knowne unto us. Here we suppose, if you make your principall and cheife seate, you shall doe most safely and richely because you are in the part of the land inclined to the southe, and two of the best rivers will supply you; besides you are neere to riche copper mines of Ritanoc and may passe them by one braunche of this river, and by another, Peccarecamicke, where you shall finde foure of the Englishe alive, left by Sir Walter Rawely, which escaped from the slaughter of Powhaton of Roanocke, uppon the first arrivall of our Colonie, and live under the proteccion of a wiroane called Gepanocon, enemy to Powhaton by whose consent you shall never recover them; one of these were worth much labour, and if you finde them not, yet seach [search?] into this countrey, it is more probable then towards the north.
16. These three habitations seeme enoughe for the nomber of the people nowe transported, over every one of which you must appointe a discreete commaunder that shall sett your men to severall workes accordinge to their undertakings in the bookes by which they were receaved; in every one of these there must be builte a church and a storehowse and a parte of land sett out for corne for the publique and some allotted to the care of manuringe and preparinge thereof. In buildinge your towns you shall as easily keepe decorous and order as confusion; and so you shall prepare for ornament and safety at once, for every streete may answere one another and all of them the markett place or storehowse in the midle which at the leaste must be paved and made firme and dry.
17. Your enemies can be but of two sortes, straungers and natives; for the first, your defence must be uppon advauntage of the place and way unto it, for fortes have no other use but that a fewe men may defend and dispute their footinge with them against a greater nomber and to winne time which, if you can do, a stranger cannot longe abide where he must bringe all his releis [relief?] with him, and he shall have no way to beseidge you but by blockinge you in and plantinge between you and the sea, to which if you have two outeletts he must be very able and powerfull that can do it; to prevent this you shall build some small forte that may discry the sea neere Cape Comforte, and there hold a reasonable garrison and keepe alwaies watch and longe boate that may be ready to take the alarum and able to cary away our men, and munition if you shall not be able to defend it. Besides it is not safe to lett any of the savages dwell betwene you and the sea least they be made guides to your enemies. To this commaunde wee desire Captaine Smith may be allotted aswell for his earnest desire as the greate confidence & trust that we have in his care & diligence.
18. The second enemy is the natives who can no way hurte you but by fire or by destroyinge your catle, or hinderinge your workes by stealth or your passages in small nombers; and in this sorte of warr there is most perill if you be not very carefull, for if they may destroy but one harvest or burne your townes in the night they will leave you naked and exposed to famine and cold, and convey themselves into wodes where revenge wilbe as difficult as unnecessary; to prevent that you must keepe good watches in the fielde and suffer none of them to come nere your corne in those daungerous seasons; and continuall centinells without the walles or uttermost defences in the night; and you must give order that your catle be kept in heards waited and attended on by some small watch or so enclosed by them selves that they destroy not your corne and other seed provisions.
19. For Powhaton and his Weroances it is clere even to reason beside our experience that he loved not our neighbourhood and therefore you may no way trust him, but if you finde it not best to make him your prisoner yet you must make him your tributary, and all other his weroances about him first to acknowledge no other lord but Kinge James, and so we shall free them all from the tirrany of Powhaton … uppon them. Every lord of a province shall pay you and send you into your forte where you make your cheif residence so many measures of corne at every harvest, soe many basketts of dye, so many dozens of skins, so many of his people to worke weekely, and of every thinge somewhat, accordinge to his proporcion in greatenes of territory and men; by which meanes you shall quietly drawe to your selves an annuall revenue of every commodity growinge in that countrey and this tribute payd to you, for which you shall deliver them from the exeacions of Powhaton which are now burdensome, and protect and defend them from all their enemies; shall also be a meanes of clearinge much ground of wood and of reducing them to laboure and trade seinge for this rent onely they shall enjoye their howses, and the rest of their travell quietly and many other commodities and blessings of which they are yet insensible.
20. If you hope to winne them and to provide for your selves by trade you wilbe deceaved, for already your copper is embased by your abundance and neglect of prisinge it and they will never feede you but for feare. Wherefore, if you perceave that they, uppon your landinge, fly up into the countrey and forsake their habitacion, you must seise into your custody half there corne and harvest and their Weroances and all other their knowne successors at once whom, if you intreate well and educate those which are younge and to succeede in the governement in your manners and religion, their people will easily obey you and become in time civill and Christian.
21. If you make freindship with any of these nations, as you must doe, choose to doe it with those that are farthest from you and enemies unto those amonge whom you dwell, for you shall have least occasion to have differences with them and by that meanes a suerer league of amity, and you shalbe suer of their trade partely for covetousnes and to serve their owne ends, where the copper is yett in his primary estimacion which Pohaton hath hitherto engrossed and partely for feare of constrainte. Monocon, to the east and head of our river, Powhatons enemy; and the Manahockes, to the northeast to the head of the River of Moyompo in the necke of the land to the west betweene our bay and the sea; Cathcatapeius, a greater Weroance then he is, also his enemy to the Southeast and South—he hath no freinde to the north; the Masawoymekes make continuall incursions uppon him and uppon all those that inhabite the Rivers of Bolus and Myomps and to the northwest; Pocoughtuwonough infecteth him with a terrible warr. With those you may hold trade and freindeship good cheape for their emotenes [remoteness?] will prevent all offence which must needes happen betweene us and them which we are mingled with to the North. At the head bay is a large towne where is store of copper and furres called Cataaneon that trade and discovery wilbe to greate purpose, if it may be setled yearely.
22. Such trade as you shall finde necessary or profitable for you with the Indians you shall endeavour to drawe them to seeke of you and to bringe their commodities into your forte, which will greatly ease the imployment of many men, and this you may bringe to passe by seeminge to make litle estimacion of trade with them and by pretendinge to be so able to consist within your selves as that you neede care for nothinge of theires, but rather that you doe them a curtesy to spare such necessaries as they want as leetle iron tooles, or copper, or the like such as are convenient for traffique; and so one officer or two in every forte, whom you must onely appointe to be truncmasters, may dispatch the whole busines of trade which els will cost you many mens laboures if you seeke it far from home. And besides these you must, by proclamacion or edicte publiquely affixed, prohibite and forbidd uppon paine or punishement of your discrecion all other persons to trade or exchange for anythinge but such as shalbe necessarie for foode or clothinge; and uppon all such commodities of yours as shall passe away from you whatsoever, you must sett prises and values under which the trunckemaster must not trade, and so you shalbe such to uphold the reputacion of your commodity and to make your traffique rich, desired and certaine; over this truncemaster there must be appointed a cape merchant or officer belonginge to the store or provision house that must deliver by booke all such things as shalbe allowed for trade and receave and take an accounte of whatsover is retourned, accordinge to the prises therein sett, and so beinge booked must store them up, to the publique use of the colony.
23. You must constitute and declare some sharpe lawe with a penaltie thereon to restraine the trade of any prohibited goods, especially of swordes, pikeheads, gunnes, daggers, or any thinge of iron that may be turned against you, and in case of such offence punishe severely; have also especially regard that no arte or trade tendinge to armes in any wise, as smithey, carpentry, of or such like, be taught the savages or used in their presence, as they may learne therein.
24. Havinge deduced your colony into severall seates and plantacions that may commodiously answere and receive one another, you must devide your people into tennes, twenties, & so upwards, to every necessary worke a competent nomber, over every one of which you must appointe some man of care and [skill] in that worke to oversee them and to take daily accounte of their laboures; and you must ordaine that every overseer of such a nomber of workemen deliver once a weeke an accounte of the wholle committed to his charge [to] the cheife governor or captaine of the fourte; and that they also once a moneth make the like accounte to you or your officer and that such goodes or provisions as are advanced or gotten above expence may be receaved and entred into the capemarchantes booke and so stored and preserved to the publique use of the colony. And thus you shall both knowe howe your men are imployed, what they gett & where it is, as also the measure of your provision and wealth.
25. For such of your men as shall attend any worke in or nere aboute every towne, you shall doe best to lett them eate together at seasonable howers in some publique place, beinge messed by sixe or five to a messe, in which you must see there bee equality and sufficient that so they may come and retourne to their worke without any delay and have no cause to complaine of measure or to excuse their idlenes uppon the dressinge or want of diett. You may well allowe them three howers in a somers day and two in the winter, and shall call them together by ringinge of a bell and by the same worne them againe to worke; for such as attend any labouer so farre from the forte, as they cannot returne at seasonable times, there must be a steward appointed that shall oversee there diett and provision, els thoughe you give every one a reasonalbe allowance for many dayes some will eate two meales at one & soe:
26. You shall give especiall order to the cheif commaunder of every forte that the armes, powder and munition be well stored and looked into and that the men be disposed into severall companies for warr and captaines appointed over every fifty to traine them at convenient times and to teache them the use of their armes and weapons and they may knowe whether uppon all occasions and sudden attempts they shall repaire to find them in a readines.
27. You must take especiall care what relacions come into England and what lettres are written and that all thinges of that nature may be boxed up and sealed and sent to first to the Councell here, accordinge to a former instruccion unto the late president in that behalf directed; and that at the arivall and retourne of every shippinge you endeavour to knowe all the particuler passages and informacions given on both sides and to advertise us accordingly.
28. Whensoever you consult of any busines of importance, wee advise you to consider and deliberate all thinges patiently & willingly and to heare every man his oppinion and objeccion, but the resultants out of them or your owne determinacion what you intend to doe not to imparte to any whatsoever, but to such onely as shall execute it, and to them also under the sealle of your commaundement and but at the instant of their partinge from you or the execucion of your will.
29. Next after buildinge, husbandry and manuringe the countrey for the provision of life and conveniency, wee comend unto your care foure principall waies of enrichinge the colonies and providinge returne of commodity, of which you must be very solicitouse that our fleetes come not home empty nor laden with useles marchandize. The first is discovery either of the southe seas or royall mines, in the search of both which we must referre you to the circumstances of your peace and your owne discrecion; the second is trade whereby you recover all the commodities of those countreys that ly far of and yet are accessable by water; the third is tribute, by which you shall advaunce parte of what soever the next lande can provide you can produce; the fourth is labour of your owne men in makinge wines, pitche, tarre, sope, ashes, steele, iron, pipestaves, in sowinge of hempe and flaxe, in gatheringe silke of the grasse, and providinge the worme and in fishinge for pearle, codd, sturgion, and such like.
30. Wee require you to call before you Captaine John Radcliffe and one … Webbe who hath complained by peticion delivered unto you of divers injuries and insolences done unto him in the governement of the said Captaine Radcliffe, and accordingly to heare the cause and doe justice in it as you shall finde reason in it your owne discrecion.
31. Whereas suite hath bine made unto us as for the retourne of Richard Potts, David Wiffin and Post Ginnet, and sufficient reasons declared to move us to graunte the same which hath bine agreed unto by the Councell assembled, wee require you to give them their licence to come backe by the next shippinge with such condicions or limitacions of retorne or otherwise as you shall thinke good.
32. Whereas peticion hath bine made by the friends of John Tavernor, capemarchant of the forte and store in Virginia, for his retorne uppon some urgent occasion and for some time into England, we require you to licence him so to do if it be his desire when you arive there; and we doe nominate and appointe Thomas Wittingham into his roome and office, beinge one in whose sufficiency and honesty we have greate confidence.
33. There beinge one George Liste, servant to John Woodall and sent over by him with a chest of cheurgery sufficiently furnished, we require you to give your licence to William Wilson, his fellowe, if the said George Liste doe stay with you, to come backe in this passage, the better to enfourme us what medicines and drugges are fittest to be provided for the use of the colonie against the next supply.
34. You shall be very wary of grantinge freedomes and of givinge your sealle to any but uppon good consideracion and greate merite, least you make cheape the best way of our recompence; and in those you doe you shall give with such limitacions of retorne in reasonable time as in your discrecion shall seeme good.
35. If it shall please God that you should dy either in your way or in your governement (which his mercy forbid) before other order be taken by us therein, wee requier and commaund that the Councell there established open a blacke boxe, marked with the figure of one and sealed with our sealle, wherein they shall finde our determinacion concerninge the successor to the governement; and do, in His Majesties name, charge and commaund every person within the precincte of the Colony to give and yeild due obedience to him so named and appointed accordinge unto his commission unto him, directed as they will aunswere to the contrary at their uttermost perill.
36. Wee also requier you, the present Governor & all your successors, to keepe secret to your selves, unsealed and unbroken up, all such lettres, schedules and instruments and whatsoever wee shall deliver you soe under our sealle, especially two blacke boxes with divers markes wherein are our commissions in cases of death or other vacacion of the Governor untill such time as you shall find your self unlikely to live or determined to returne, uppon which occasions wee requier you that they be delivered before all the Councell to be opened successively after such death or departure out of Virginia of any Governor.
Provided that in all thinges herein contained, except onely the succession, wee doe by these our lettres instruccions binde you to nothinge so strictely but that uppon due consideracion and good reason, and uppon divers circumstances of time and place wherein we cannot here conclude, you may in your discrecion departe and dissent from them and change, alter or establishe, execute and doe all ordinances or acts whatsoever that may best conducte to the glory of God, the honor of our Kinge and nation to the good and perfect establishement of our Colony. Geven under our hands and Councell sealle the day of May, in the seaventh yeare of His Majesties ragne of England, Fraunce & Ireland and Scotland the two and fortithe.
Kingsbury, Records of the Virginia Company of London, Vol. III, pp. 12-24.
