Episode 391: Katie Schinabeck, Government in Colonial Virginia

Do you ever wonder how governments met and worked in colonial British America?

Williamsburg, Virginia, served as the capital of Virginia between 1699 and 1779. During its 80 years of service as capital, Williamsburg represented the center of British authority in Virginia. This meant the Royal Governor of the colony lived in Williamsburg. Indigenous, colonial, and other delegations came to Williamsburg to negotiate treaties and trade with Virginia. And, the colonial government met in Williamsburg’s Capitol building to pass laws, listen to court cases, and debate ideas.

Katie Schinabeck, a historian of historical memory and the American Revolution and the Digital Projects Researcher at Colonial Williamsburg’s Innovation Studios, takes us on a behind-the-scenes tour of Williamsburg’s colonial Capitol building to explore how the government of colonial Virginia worked and operated.

About the Show

Ben Franklin’s World is a podcast about early American history.

It is a show for people who love history and for those who want to know more about the historical people and events that have impacted and shaped our present-day world.

Each episode features a conversation with a historian who helps us shed light on important people and events in early American history.

Ben Franklin’s World is a production of Colonial Williamsburg Innovation Studios.

Episode Summary

Katie Schinabeck is the Digital Projects Researcher here at Colonial Williamsburg’s Innovation Studios. She received her PhD in Public History from NC State University and her research focuses on historical memory and the American Revolution.

During our discussion, Katie reveals: Architectural and historical significance; Colonial Williamsburg Legislative bodies (House of Burgesses, Governor’s Council); Virginia’s transition from a corporate colony to a royal colony; notable cases heard in the colonial Virginia General Court; prominent Virginians and their legislative careers during the American Revolution.

What You’ll Discover

• The history of the capitol building in eighteenth-century Williamsburg
• Eighteenth-century Virginia and early legislative powers
• The role of the British crown and royal governors in British North America
• Details about Virginia’s House of Burgesses and how it met
• Details about the Governor’s Council and its role in Virginia’s early government
• Functions of colonial Virginia’s General Court
• The kinds of cases heard in Virginia’s General Court
• The transition from Virginia’s colonial government to its revolutionary government
• Background and content of the Stamp Act Resolves
• Lord Dunmore’s dissolving of the Virginia House of Burgesses
• Edmund Pendleton’s 1776-Resolution