--In the colony of Virginia we find
conditions that bring about entirely different results in the
organization and workings of local government. Here the settlers were
not bound by religious or other ties into compact social bodies as the
Puritans were. Natural conditions in Virginia made it better for the
settlers to live apart, so that nearly all their attempts to form cities
and towns failed. The cultivation of tobacco, of course, explains this
to a large extent. The fertile soil and the ease of raising this product
led to the formation of large plantations. The broad rivers made
progress into the interior remarkably easy; and there seemed little
necessity for towns as shipping ports, because ocean vessels could stop
at the private wharves of the various plantations. The rich planters
were most prominent in the social and political life of the colony, and
local government fell under their control.
The Importance of the County.--Now, of the various local
organizations to which the Virginians had been accustomed in England,
the one best suited to their condition in the colony was the county.
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