Author Archives: Sandifer Tours

July 4th schedule

Free admission to Colonial Williamsburg exhibits on July 4th.  Do something different this year.   Use your savings to book a walking tour.   Sandifertours.com for a fraction of the cost of admission you can get a walking tour and still explore the exhibit sites. It’s the best of both worlds.

The Colonial Capitol

The second capitol building in Williamsburg, Virginia, is a fascinating piece of American history. Built in 1705, it was the center of government for the colony of Virginia during a crucial time in the formation of the United States.

The second capitol building replaced the original building, which had been destroyed in a fire in 1698.

The building was the site of many important events in early American history. The colony of Virginia declared its independence from Great Britain in the building’s House of Burgesses. The building also hosted several important meetings during the American Revolution, including the Virginia Convention of 1776, which adopted the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the state’s first constitution.

The building’s architecture is an interesting blend of English and American styles. The exterior features a brick facade with decorative details that are reminiscent of English Baroque architecture. Inside, the building has a central hall with a vaulted ceiling, which was a common feature in American public buildings of the time.

Today, the second capitol building is part of Colonial Williamsburg, a living history museum that celebrates life in colonial Virginia. Visitors can tour the building and learn about its rich history, as well as the important role it played in the formation of the United States.

Overall, the second capitol building in Williamsburg, Virginia, is a fascinating piece of American history that offers a glimpse into the early days of the United States. Its architecture and historical significance make it a must-see for anyone interested in American history or architecture.

The First Slave in the American Colonies

John Punch is believed to be the first African slave in the British colonies of North America. His story is a tragic one that speaks of the inhumanity of the slave trade and the dehumanization of people of African descent. His story is recorded in the annals of American history and serves as a reminder of the brutal past that we must never forget.

John Punch was an enslaved man who lived in Virginia in the 17th century. He worked on a plantation in the colony and was brought over from Africa against his will. His wife and child were also enslaved on the same plantation, and their lives were similarly tragic.

In 1640, John Punch was punished severely for attempting to run away from his enslavement. Along with two white indentured servants who had also attempted to escape, John Punch was brought before a court in Virginia. The court found all three men guilty, but the punishment meted out to the black man was far more severe than that given to the white men.

While the white indentured servants were to serve their masters for an extended period, John Punch was sentenced to a lifetime of slavery. He was whipped, branded on his face with the letter “R,” and forced to work for the rest of his life without any hope of release or freedom. In essence, he became the first African slave in the British colonies of North America.

John Punch’s case is significant because it shows how the legal system treated people of African descent differently from whites. It also highlights the beginnings of the slave system that would later become a dominant feature of colonial America. Today, millions of people in the United States are descendants of people like John Punch, who were forcibly taken from their homeland and made to suffer a lifetime of bondage.

In conclusion, John Punch’s story is a poignant reminder of the brutal history of the American slave trade. Though he was not the only person of African descent to be enslaved in the colonies, his case serves as a reminder of the inhumane treatment that many like him suffered. We must never forget the stories of people like John Punch and must continue to work towards creating a world where everyone is treated equally and with dignity, regardless of their race or ethnicity.

References:

1. Pierson, P. (2017). The first slave in colonial America? A black man sentenced to lifetime servitude in 1640. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-john-punch-slave-20170701-htmlstory.html

2. Stampp, K. M. (1956). The peculiar institution: Slavery in the ante-bellum South. Oxford University Press. 3. Berlin, I. (1998). Many thousands gone: The first two centuries of slavery in North America. Harvard University Press.

18th Century Punishment

In the 18th century, corporal punishment was a common form of discipline used to maintain order and punish offenders. This type of punishment involved physical pain or discomfort inflicted upon the offender as a means of correction.

One of the most common forms of corporal punishment in the 18th century was flogging. Flogging involved the use of a whip or a rod to strike the offender’s back or buttocks. The number of strokes varied depending on the severity of the offense, with some punishments involving hundreds of lashes.

Another form of corporal punishment was the pillory, which involved locking the offender’s head and hands in a wooden frame in a public place. The offender would be subjected to ridicule and abuse from the public, and sometimes pelted with rotten fruits and vegetables.

Yet another form of punishment was the stocks, which involved locking the offender’s feet and hands in a wooden device in a public place. The offender would be exposed to the elements and subjected to ridicule and abuse from the public.

Corporal punishment was also used in schools to discipline students. It was common for teachers to use a cane to strike the hands or buttocks of students who misbehaved. This form of punishment was intended to instill discipline and obedience in students.

While corporal punishment was viewed as an effective means of maintaining order and discipline in the 18th century, it was also a controversial practice. Critics argued that it was inhumane and violated the offender’s rights. Today, corporal punishment has largely been abolished in many countries around the world, with many viewing it as an outdated and ineffective practice.

Segregation in Williamsburg

Bruton Heights School (special collections John D Rockefeller Jr Library) the segregated school for black children built by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation during Jim Crow

Williamsburg, Virginia, has a complex history of segregation, dating back to the colonial era. Williamsburg served as the colonial capital of Virginia from 1699 until 1780 and played a significant role in the development of slavery in the United States.

During the Jim Crow era, Williamsburg, like many other southern towns, enforced strict segregation laws, which effectively barred African Americans from participating in many aspects of public life. Segregation was not officially abolished until the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

One example of segregation in Williamsburg was the practice of separate schools for African American and white students. This practice continued until the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision in 1954, which ruled that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional.

Another example was the segregation of public spaces such as parks, restaurants, and theaters. For instance, the city’s largest public park, College Landing Park, was reserved for whites only. African Americans were relegated to smaller, inferior parks.

Despite the legal end of segregation, some forms of segregation still exist in Williamsburg, particularly in housing patterns. A 2017 report by the Equal Justice Initiative found that Williamsburg and James City County had the highest rate of racial segregation of any metropolitan area in the United States.

The report attributed this high level of segregation to several factors, including discriminatory housing policies and a lack of affordable housing options for low-income residents. It noted that African Americans in Williamsburg are concentrated in low-income areas, while white residents tend to live in more affluent neighborhoods.

In recent years, efforts have been made to address this segregation. For example, the Williamsburg-James City County School Board voted in 2019 to redraw school attendance zones in an effort to reduce racial and socioeconomic segregation in the district.

References:

The Bray School – Mixed Feelings

If you follow Colonial Williamsburg you already know that they recently moved an 18th century building believed to be the Bray school from the campus of William and Mary to the historic area. It currently sits at the intersection of Francis and Nassau streets.

If you haven’t been keeping up…

The Bray school was opened in Williamsburg in 1760 to teach black children (both free and enslaved) and operated until 1774 when it was shut down. It was eventually lost to history. It was rediscovered by an English professor.

I’m extremely excited and happy to see the building restored, opened to the public, and interpreted. As it should be. However I have several misgivings.

First, the move itself. It could have been restored and opened to the public and interpreted on its original foundations. This would have enriched the history of William and Mary and would have been authentic. Too much of the black history of William and Mary has been hidden, lost, and covered up. This is another piece of black history that the college is removing. Vows to the contrary, 20 years from now it will hardly be remembered that it was moved from the campus.

Second: The location. It was put beside where the 1st Baptist church will be restored and across the street from the Baptist meeting house reconstruction. It’s as if Colonial Williamsburg is attempting to put all of black history into one location. Forgetting that all of Williamsburg was touched by both free and enslaved blacks. Isolating black history into one half a block is hardly telling a complete history of the city.

Another problem with the location is that it’s in the historic area. Rockefeller was adamant that the historic area be reconstructed as authentic as possible. He didn’t want future historians to find fault with the reconstruction. So much so that some 18th century buildings were not restored and some actually removed because they could not be put on their original foundations. While some 18th century buildings were brought into the area they were not put in the historic area. They were kept outside. It seems like a violation of the spirit of the historic area and its history to move buildings into it.

Third: The interpretation of the building. We are being told that the building will be interpreted but how? Colonial Williamsburg does not have the manpower or resources. Carter’s Grove has been sold. Great Hopes Plantation is unmanned. The Gaol is unmanned. The Presbyterian meeting house unmanned. The Baptist meeting house unmanned. The Geddy house closed. The Wythe house partially closed. The Raleigh tavern partially closed. The coffeehouse partially closed. The windmill moved from an original location and unmanned and unused. Is the Bray school the next moved and unmanned building in the historic area?

Forth: Is this the best use of Colonial Williamsburg funds? The carpenters have identified over 200 foundations in the historic area they could reconstruct buildings on. This would make the historic area more authentic.

While I’m overjoyed with the prospect that the Bray school will be interpreted I’m skeptical. Is this just a way to scrub William and Mary’s history? Will Colonial Williamsburg break their promise to tell the whole story like they did with Carter’s Grove, Great Hopes Plantation, the Baptist meeting house and the numerous closed or semiclosed buildings. Is this just a ploy so Colonial Williamsburg can point to a building and say “we’re telling the whole story”, and after their anniversary celebration they can forget about it?

I hope it’s real and meaningful but Colonial Williamsburg’s situation and history tell a different story.

Virginia Declaration of Rights Part 2 (Changing the World)

George Mason wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights in 1776 and the very first line changed the world.

He said “all men are by nature equally free and independent and have certain inherent rights…” and then lists them. There was a big problem with that first line. In Virginia we had slavery. That was Virginia’s problem but there was a much larger global issue at work.

In the 18th century it was an established fact that all men are NOT equal. The idea had been around for awhile but no government would ever put something that progressive or that radical into practice. The men of Virginia couldn’t do it either. They changed it. If you live in Virginia this is the way it still reads to this day, “all men are by nature equally free and independent and have certain inherent rights… when they enter into a state of society”.

That’s a nice little legal loophole. They got to be equally free and independent but they got to keep their enslaved because the only ones “in society” were free, white, adult, male, protestant, land owners.

Their change did not stop Jefferson from copying it into the Declaration of Independence. All men are created equal. That didn’t make us equal. It put us on a path to equality. A path we are still on because we never quite achieved equality.

BUT we did change the world. Go anywhere in the world today and challenge them with the idea “all men are created equal”. They will not disagree with you. We changed the way the word thinks and it all started in Virginia.

The Virginia Declaration of Rights (part 1)

In May of 1776 the 5th Virginia convention met at the capitol building.

They voted to declare independence from Great Britton. Then immediately realized that you can’t just declare yourself independent. You would leave Virginia without a government. So the first order of business… create a new government. None of them had ever created a government before so when they created the government of Virginia…. they did it wrong.

They actually thought the best way to form a government was to define the rights of the citizens and then form a government to protect those rights. It’s a great idea but that’s not how governments are formed.

Governments are traditionally formed the other way around (like our federal government) When a small group of men seize power (in Philadelphia). Those men form a government (create a constitution) then tell the citizens what rights they will allow them to have (begrudgingly add the bill of rights).

But in Virginia they decided on the rights of citizens first and then formed a government that answers to the people.

It instilled in the new nation the idea that the Government’s main function is to protect the rights of it’s citizens.

The Reconstructed Raleigh Tavern

The rebuilt Raleigh tavern. One of the most under rated buildings in American history.

In March of 1773 the Virginia committee of correspondence was formed to “consist of eleven persons, to wit: the Honourable Peyton Randolph, Esquire; Robert Carter Nicholas, Richard Bland, Richard Henry Lee, Benjamin Harrison, Edmund Pendleton, Patrick Henry, Dudley Digges, Dabney Carr, Archibald Cary, and Thomas Jefferson, Esquires, any six of whom to be a committee, whose business it shall be to obtain the most early and authentic intelligence of all such Acts and resolutions of the British Parliament, or proceedings of administration, as may relate to or affect the British colonies in America”. A spy ring. Any six of them would constitute a meeting of the committee. The committee met in the Daphne room of the Raleigh tavern.

James Southall was the owner of the tavern and a sympathizer for the rebellious cause. He later became the leader of one of the committees of public safety ( more about the committees of safety in future articles).

In 1774 the Virginia house of burgessess met in the Apolo room. They called for the first contental congress (like it or not the idea of our government meeting in congress started in the Raleigh tavern).

In 1776 the 5th Virginia convention met. George Mason stayed at the Raleigh tavern. From his room at the tavern he wrote the Virginia declaration of rights (more about the declaration of rights and the forming of the Virginia government in future articles). His declaration of rights would be adapted by the contental congress to become the bill of rights attached to the constitution.

The Raleigh tavern was the first building opened to the public at Colonial Williamsburg. Two years before any other. But NOT because of its historical importance but because of its sentimental importance. In 1776 the phi beta kappa fraternity was formed here. W.A.R. Goodwin (the man who had the idea for Colonial Williamsburg) and Rockefeller (the money behind Colonial Williamsburg) were both phi beta kappa alumni .