William Berkeley (governor)

Biography

Berkeley was born in 1605 in Bruton, Somersetshire to Sir Maurice and Elizabeth Berkeley (née Killigrew), of the Bruton branch of the Berkeley family, both of whom held stock in the Virginia Company of London. Referred to as “Will” by his family and friends, he was born in the winter of 1605 into landed gentry. His father died when he was twelve and, though indebted, left Berkeley land in Somerset. His elder brother was John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton.

Young Berkeley showed signs of a quick wit and broad learning. His informal education consisted of observing his elders; from them he learned “the moves that governed the larger English society and his privileged place in it.” Also, as part of the English country gentry, he was aware of agricultural practices, knowledge which would influence his actions as governor of Virginia.

Though his father died in debt, Berkeley secured a proper education. He entered grammar school at about six or seven years old where he became literate in Latin and English. At eighteen, like the other Berkeley men, he entered Oxford. He began his studies at Queen’s College in the footsteps of his forebears, but quickly transferred to St. Edmund Hall, a “throwback to medieval times”. He received, though not necessarily completed, a B.A. in fifteen months of his arrival at the Hall.

All undergraduates at St. Edmund Hall received a personal tutor. While the identity of Berkeley’s tutor is unsure, his effect upon the boy showed through William’s “disciplined intellect and steady appetite for knowledge”.

In 1632, he gained a place in the household of Charles I. That position gave him entré into a court literary circle known as "The Wits". Berkeley wrote several plays, one of which—The Lost Lady: A Tragy Comedy—was performed for Charles I and Henrietta Maria and was published in 1638. It is also included in the first and fourth editions of Dodsley's "Old Plays," and "A Description of Virginia" (1663).

Soldiering in the First and Second Bishops' Wars (1639–1640) gained Berkeley a knighthood.

First administration as governor

Berkeley replaced Sir Francis Wyatt as governor of Virginia in 1641. He was governor of the colony of Virginia from 1641–1652 and 1660–1677.

Berkeley’s main initiative when he first became governor was to encourage diversification of Virginia’s agricultural products. He accomplished this through passing laws and by setting himself up as an example for planters.

Arriving at Jamestown in 1642, Berkeley erected Green Spring House on a tract of land west of the capital, where he experimented with alternatives to tobacco. It was at Green Spring that he planted such diverse crops as corn, wheat, barley, rye, rape[seed], tobacco, oranges, lemons, grapes, sugar and silk. Berkeley devoted much of his time as a planter to experimenting with alternatives to tobacco; although he always produced the crop, he "despised" it. As a planter, with Virginia in mind, Berkeley constantly attempted to determine the best crops for the state through trial and error. Berkeley produced flax, fruits, potash, rice, silk, and spirits which he exported through a commercial network that joined Green Spring to markets in North America, the West Indies, Great Britain, and Holland.

He owned Boldrup Plantation.

English Civil War and Commonwealth

When the parliamentarians were successful, Berkeley offered an asylum in Virginia to gentlemen of the royalist side; whereupon the parliament despatched a small fleet to the colony, and the governor, unable to offer resistance, was forced to resign his authority, but received permission to remain on his own plantation as a private person. At the Restoration, Berkeley was reappointed governor.

Second administration as governor

For Berkeley, the path towards Virginia's prosperity was fourfold: a diverse economy; free trade; a close-knit colonial society; and autonomy from London. He proceeded to turn this thought into action in various ways. In order to support a diversified economy and free trade, for instance, he used his own plantation as an example. Virginia's autonomy from London was supported in the General Assembly's role in the colony's governance. The Assembly was, in effect, a "miniature Parliament." The colony's autonomy from London was also advocated by Berkeley in his efforts against the revival of the Virginia Company of London.

Berkeley was "bitterly hostile" to Virginia's Puritans and Quakers. In an attempt to oppress them, Berkeley helped enact a law to "preserve the Established Church's [The Church of England] Unity and purity of doctrine." It punished any minister who preached outside the teachings and doctrine of this church, thus oppressing Puritans, Quakers, and any other religious minority.

Berkeley strongly opposed public education. Though he was unable to foresee the eventual establishment of such schools, he held that they would bring "disobedience, heresy, and sects into the world," and were for such reasons destructive to society. He also held printing at the same level as public education.

Bacon's Rebellion and downfall

Berkeley's downfall came with the advent of his second term. He returned from retirement in 1660 due to the early death of Governor Samuel Mathews. At his return, Berkeley appealed to England for financial support of Virginia's economy. Charles II denied Berkeley's appeal "in favour of free trade."

In 1675, Berkeley appointed Nathaniel Bacon, his wife's nephew, to Virginian high office. This was uncharacteristic of Berkeley, and may have shown signs of withering competence as governor.

Slow to act to Indian attacks, Berkeley was viewed as incompetent, making his authority easy to undermine. Disagreements over Indian policy led Bacon to rebel against Berkeley. Bacon accepted command of an illegal troop of Indian fighters and disregarded the governor's warning against leading the volunteers. "He declared Bacon a rebel, dissolved the General Assembly, and promised to remedy any complaints the voters had with him."

Bacon unexpectedly led 500 armed men into Jamestown and compelled the frightened legislators to appoint him general before he marched away in search of the Indians. His extortion of a general's commission turned a dispute over Indian policy into a duel to the death over who would control Virginia: Bacon or Berkeley.

"Berkeley defeated Bacon's invaders, which enabled him to return to the western shore and to retake his capital. Once reports of the revolt reached London, the crown sent 1,000 redcoats, ships, and a commission to crush Bacon. There was nothing for the troops to do because Berkeley had regained the upper hand. The rebellion ended before they arrived in January 1677. The Treaty of Middle Plantation, the formal peace treaty between the Indians and the colonists, was signed on 29 May 1677, after Berkeley returned to England."

Death

Berkeley died in Berkeley House, Mayfair, England on 9 July 1677, and he was "buried half a world away from the place that had become his home" in the crypt of St Mary's Church, Twickenham, where there is a memorial window to him and his brother, Lord Berkeley.