The House of Burgesses was the first assembly of elected representatives of English colonists in North America. The House was established by the Virginia Company, who created the body as part of an effort to encourage English craftsmen to settle in North America and to make conditions in the colony more agreeable for its current inhabitants. Its first meeting was held in Jamestown, Virginia, on July 30, 1619.
The word "Burgess" means an elected or appointed official of a municipality, or the representative of a borough in the English House of Commons.
Read more about House Of Burgesses: Origin; Early Years, Moving Toward Independence, Meeting Places, Legacy
Famous quotes containing the word house:
“As far as I can see, this autumn haze
That spreading in the evening air both ways
Makes the new moon look anything but new
And pours the elm-tree meadow full of blue,
Is all the smoke from one poor house alone....”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)