It seems like it was much easier to find information about early Massachusetts than it is about Virginia. One source, possibly the best, is actually from North Carolina, but we have to remember that the lines were not drawn in the same places three hundred years ago.
I think we all know a bit about Jamestown. (I've even been there. It is well worth your time if you have the opportunity.) But after that, it all gets pretty fuzzy in my memory, so here's a bit of help:
Virginia Colony History
The part that I found interesting is that the people, especially before they started bringing in slaves, were pretty much divided between land owners and indentured servants. The land owners were the only ones who got to participate in any form of government. They often paid the passage of people who couldn't afford it in return for a promise to work for an agreed-upon length of time to pay off the debt. Once the indentured servants had worked off their contracts, though, they were free to earn money and buy land and then participate in the government. We have ancestors from both groups.
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