Edwin Sandys was also one of the men instrumental in establishing the first representative assembly in the new world at Jamestown by issuing a new charter calling for its establishment. In addition, he assisted the Pilgrims in establishing their colony at Plymouth, Massachusetts by lending them 300 pounds without interest. This led to Sandys being accused in 1624 by Sir Nathaniel Rich of having republican sympathies and of trying to establish a 'Brownist Republic' in Virginia. This was an accusation not entirely without foundation, as the colonial project had from the outset quasi-republican overtones.