Governing a sparsely settled colony 3700 miles away from Whitehall proved financially difficult for the Virginia Company. In 1624, after nearly twenty years of seeking commercial profit from the Virginia venture, the London Company was bankrupt. King James revoked the company’s charter and the province became a royal jurisdiction.1 Gradually, over several decades, the governor and legislature implemented statutes for the conduct of civil, ecclesiastical, and commercial affairs, Virginia slowly enjoyed greater stability and growth.2 But the real catalysts in the eventual prosperity of the province were the black slaves who began to arrive in 1619, and who could be exploited in the lucrative cultivation of tobacco.