Women of Colonial Virginia

In May of 1607 one hundred men and young boys were on an expedition that landed them in what is now known as Virginia. They became the first permanent English settles in America. They named the colony of Jamestown after the English King James. The site was chosen precisely for its location and beneficial factors. Jamestown was surrounded by water on three sides of the land; this made it easily accessible for ships to come and go. It was far enough inland which made it easier to defend from a possible Spanish attack. Lastly, the land was not currently being inhabited by the natives. At the time it was said that the men had to be able to create a living before any women could be a part of the colony.[1]

In the early days of the colony, the Powhatan Indians were known for helping the settlers. They would provide food and other supplies to the English settlers. In 1609, the Powhatan tribe could not help the settlers due to a drought, and insufficient amount of supplies to share between their tribe and the settlers. This was known as the starving time in Virginia, most of the settlers had died of starvation and diseases due to the lack of supplies.[2] The essay, A Short History of Jamestown, notes that "As a result they ate anything they could: various animals, leather from their shoes and belts, and sometimes fellow settlers who had already died due to starvation and disease."[1] This illustrates just how desperate for supplies and food the early settlers were.

In the early Virginia colonies, Native American women were responsible for both household tasks and hard labor in the fields. It was normal for the Native American women to have more responsibilities than men, as they were viewed as superior to men in certain ways. Powhatan women (the tribe of Pochohontas) did not eat with the men, and the men had many wives Most of the time the men would have to travel for food or trade and leave the women alone for long periods of time.[3] Therefore, women had to be able to cope and live without relying or depending on their husbands to do the heavy lifting.[4] Once European women arrived in the New World the views on what women's roles were conflicted. European women were always expected to do the household tasks, while caring for and teaching their children. In the eyes of European, women were never supposed to step into men's roles. Some European women were also sent into some of the Native American tribes to teach them the way of the English, primarily by teaching the women to weave clothes.[5] as well as their religion, and culture. European wives, whose families were wealthy to own a slave did not have to complete household tasks. However, those who were not wealthy enough to own a slave did not receive any help with the house hold chores.[6][7][8]

Women were known to provide a sense of stability. They came to the Jamestown Colony to marry men in the colony or to serve as indentured servants. Some women were also known to come to the colony at a young age with their families, such as Cecily Jordan Farrar. In 1610, the colony's focus was on establishing families. Women were married soon after their arrival to the colony, and were then expected to provide children. Women who were single could not own land after 1618, because the Virginia Company felt that if women could uphold land than they would be less likely to marry.[2] This was a problem because early on a woman was expected to marry and produce children to support the growth of the colony. This was a concern, since "Women frequently gave birth to ten or twelve children, but childbirth was very dangerous for women." [2] Until 1654 and the Anthony Johnson v. John Casor case If a woman was of African descent, then she was a part of the indentured servant population, after that case there was a change in legal status and they were slaves. African American women were first brought to Virginia in 1619 three women and 20 men.[9] They were sold into bondage to wealthy Planters like Governor George Yeardley.As time passed African American women forced to work in the fields and do jobs that were known as part of the men's role in American and European society, as well as perform domestic duties.. Black women were also seen as a way to produce native born slaves.[10] There was class, race and gender structure in Colonial America. The female indentured servants, did not encounter any conditions different than what they experienced at home in England, from household chores to farming. The role of women was clearly defined. If of the Planter (upper) class, she was expected to supervise the slaves attending to the household, and play a supporting role to the man. The wives of farmers, found life harder, toiling dawn to dusk and beyond, in the house  and in the field, but this harder life led to more dependence on and respect for the woman's role.[11]

In the Early stages of the Virginia colonies, women did not have as many rights as they did in England. Women were not able to take part in many things, such as voting, owning land, or even holding a spot in political office. If a woman was not married, then their fathers held the rights to them until married and were taken into the care of their husband. The only women allowed to escape the control of a man were widows. Even if a widow decided to remarry after her husband's death, she had the right to control her property. To keep control over the property given to her by her deceased husband, a widow would have to make legal arrangements. These arrangements would prevent a future husband from taking over the rights to the land.[12]

Twenty African, indentured servants were brought over in a Portuguese ship in 1619[13] Anyone who was considered an indentured servant before this were white. Blacks were not enslaved until the case of Anthony Johnson v. John Casor in 1654. Being an indentured servant meant that one had to work for a particular time frame to pay for their transportation to the New World.[14] They were also not allowed to be married while being an indentured servant. After they had served their time, the indentured servants were free. In the 1620s, indentured servants became the main contribution to Virginia's economy and society.[15] Servants were a big part of maintaining the economy because without the servants and slaves Virginia would have had major economy problems. The original settlers had a hard time keeping up with all the work that needed to be done. It was common for servants and slaves to become overwhelmed with the work load that some considered running away to live life with the Indians.[15] If a servant or slave were caught running away from their master they could be put to death, but that would be destroying personal property as slaves cost money and produced labor.. In some cases, masters would treat their indentured servants and slaves with respect rather than beating them. This provided a sense of reliability in them and made it more likely they would ask to work for the owner following year to pay that the indenture expired. In 1640, views on race changed for slaves.

Women's work in the 17th Century, carrying away the communal latrine

"1640 marked a change in Virginia's attitude toward Africans. In 1640, three Virginia servants- two Europeans and one African- ran away from their masters. Upon recapture, a Virginia judge ordered the European servants to serve their master for one more year; the African servant was ordered to serve his master for the rest of his life."[14]

. By 1622, African American women were more valuable, since they could work in the fields and in the household. This led the Virginia company to pass a law allowing them to obtain more African American women who could provide a dual workload.[14]

Indentured servants were chattel. The master had no financial investment in them, and after they served their contract they were freed, given clothes, seed and often a plot of land. Slaves on the other hand were property and Masters had a financial investment in them, thus their well being as they were expected to produce for life and not a term of years.[16]