To encourage settlers to come to Virginia, in November 1618 the Virginia Company's leaders gave instructions to the new governor, Sir George Yeardley, which became known as "the great charter." It established that immigrants who paid their own way to Virginia would receive fifty acres of land and not be mere tenants. The civil authority would control the military. In 1619, based on the instructions, Governor Yeardley initiated the election of 22 burgesses by the settlements and Jamestown. They, together with the royally-appointed Governor and six-member Council of State, would form the first representative General Assembly as a unicameral body.

In late August of that year, the first African slaves landed at Old Point Comfort in Hampton, Virginia. This is seen as a beginning of the history of slavery in Virginia and British colonies in North America. It is also considered a starting point for African-American history, given that they were the first such group in mainland British America.