Urban Dreams, Rural Commonwealth: The Rise of Plantation Society in the Chesapeake

354 Pages·2018·3.036 MB·English

by  Paul Musselwhite

Urban Dreams, Rural Commonwealth
american beginnings, 1500– 1900
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Urban Dreams,
Rural Commonwealth
The Rise of Plantation Society
in the Chesapeake
Paul Musselwhite
The University of Chicago Press
chicago and london
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2019 by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner
whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations
in critical articles and reviews. For more information, contact the University of
Chicago Press, 1427 E. 60th St., Chicago, IL 60637.
Published 2019
Printed in the United States of America
28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 1 2 3 4 5
ISBN- 13: 978- 0- 226- 58528- 4 (cloth)
ISBN- 13: 978- 0- 226- 58531- 4 (e-b ook)
DOI: https://d oi. org/ 10 .7208/ chicago/ 9780226585314 .001 .0001
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Musselwhite, Paul, author.
Title: Urban dreams, rural commonwealth : the rise of plantation society in the
Chesapeake / Paul Musselwhite.
Other titles: American beginnings, 1500–1900.
Description: Chicago ; London : The University of Chicago Press, 2019. |
Series: American beginnings, 1500–1900
Identifi ers: LCCN 2018031112 | ISBN 9780226585284 (cloth : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9780226585314 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Chesapeake (Va.)—History. | Urbanization—Virginia—
Chesapeake Region.
Classifi cation: LCC F232.C43 M87 2019 | DDC 975.5/523—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018031112
This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48- 1992
(Permanence of Paper).
For my parents and for Meg

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: “Our Folly and Ruining Singularity” 1
1. Garrison Towns, Corporate Boroughs, and the Search
for Order under the Virginia Company 23
2. From Corporate Communities to County Courts
in the Early Stuart Empire 56
3. The Political Geography of Empire in the
Eng lish Revolution 86
4. Planters, the State, and the Restoration City 116
5. Towns, Improvement, and the Contest for
Authority in the 1680s 148
6. The Imperial City and the Solidifying of
the Plantation System 181
7. Urban Growth and Country Thought in the
Planters’ Golden Age 219
Epilogue: “This little Common wealth” 253
List of Abbreviations 271
Notes 273
Index 333
vii

Acknowledgments
In a book about ideas that repeatedly lacked the support to be realized,
it seems particularly important to acknowledge the contributions of the
many individuals who helped me translate my thoughts into publishable
form. Of course, as every author admits, it is impossible to account for
every idea, labor, and act of kindness that made this book possible. How-
ever, it is a long-a nticipated pleasure to be able to thank those who have
given so much to this study and, by extension, to me.
My research has been supported by the fi nancial and institutional
resources of numerous organizations and archives. I received graduate
scholarships from the Order of the First Families of Virginia and the Na-
tional Society of the Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims. I am grateful for
archival research grants from the Huntington Library, the Folger Shake-
speare Library, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, and the Virginia
Historical Society. Beyond fi nancial assistance, though, I am particularly
grateful for the tireless support of librarians and archivists at each of these
libraries, especially Doug Mayo and George Yetter at Colonial Williams-
burg, who strove to assist me even as their resources were stripped away.
I also owe a tremendous debt to the staff at the Maryland State Archives,
the Maryland Historical Society, the Library of Virginia, the Library of
Congress, the British Library, the London Guildhall Library, the Mitchell
Library, and the UK National Archives. Librarians at the College of Wil-
liam and Mary’s Swem Library, the University of Glasgow Library, and the
Dartmouth College Library have also patiently handled my many requests
and excuses about overdue books. Also, digital resource coordinators at
the Maryland Historical Society and the Mariners’ Museum in Newport
News, and especially Marianne Martin at Colonial Williamsburg, have
ix