The House of BurgessesThe House of Burgesses in Williamsburg, VAin Williamsburg, VA
The House of Burgesses was an assembly of elected representatives from Virginia that met from 1643 to 1776. This democratically elected legislative body was the first of its kind in English North America. From 1619 until 1643, elected burgesses met in unicameral session with the governor and the royally appointed governor’s Council; after 1643, the burgesses met separately as the lower house of the General Assembly of Virginia. Each county sent two burgesses to the House; towns could petition to send a single representative, as Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Norfolk did.
The Speaker's Chair became a symbol of power in Colonial Williamsburg. This chair dates to the 1730s, a silent witness to the creation of this new republic.
The House of BurgessesThe House of Burgesses in Williamsburg, VAin Williamsburg, VA
The House of Burgesses was an assembly of elected representatives from Virginia that met from 1643 to 1776. This democratically elected legislative body was the first of its kind in English North America. From 1619 until 1643, elected burgesses met in unicameral session with the governor and the royally appointed governor’s Council; after 1643, the burgesses met separately as the lower house of the General Assembly of Virginia. Each county sent two burgesses to the House; towns could petition to send a single representative, as Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Norfolk did.
The Speaker's Chair became a symbol of power in Colonial Williamsburg. This chair dates to the 1730s, a silent witness to the creation of this new republic.