When Charles I lost the throne of England and was executed in 1649, the news reached Virginia. The staunch royalist, Governor Berkeley quickly proclaimed Charles II as king and the Assembly declared it high treason to question his right to
the colony of Virginia. Parliament decided to punish the colony by blockading it until
Berkeley delivered a defiant address to the Assembly,
which warmly supported Charles II. Despite England's position against the colony, its blockade proved a failure, for Dutch
traders sailed unmolested into Chesapeake Bay. A group of Virginia
parliamentarians visited England and demanded that Berkeley be
overthrown. The Council of State responded by sending out a fleet to
subdue both Barbados and Virginia. Commissioners were also sent to
Virginia to persuade the colony to submit peaceably. In the spring of
1652 when the fleet appeared in the James River, it found the governor
prepared for resistance. The commissioners intervened, and by offering
lenient terms, bloodshed was avoided. It was agreed that the colony
should "voluntarily" acknowledge the authority of the Commonwealth, that
the Virginians should have as free trade as the people of England, and
that taxation was to be in the hands of the House of Burgess. Neither
Berkeley nor his councilors were to be compelled to take the oath of
allegiance for a year, and the use of the Book of Common Prayer was
permitted for a similar length of time. Berkeley retired from the
governorship but remained in the colony.
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