Some of those who held the lead role as governor ofVirginia never visited theNew World and governed through deputies resident in the colony. Others, such as Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, held the lead role for many years but were in Virginia for only a short portion of that time and usually delegated responsibilities to others. Probably for those reasons, in many historical documents and references, the deputies and lieutenant governors who had the primary responsibility inVirginia are also often titled simply "governor." Also, transportation fromEngland routinely took several months and occasionally, much longer. Thus, dates may appear to overlap.
The first English attempt to colonize Virginia was the "Lost Colony" ofRoanoke. Unsuccessful settlements were established under two different governors, and the final fate of the colonists remains unknown.
From 1606 until 1624,Proprietary Governors oversaw the operation of the Virginia Colony. Most were styled "President of the Council", although some were styled "governor" by the proprietors.
Captain John Smith, from his 1614 map of New England
After the Virginia Company of London lost its proprietary charter in 1624, the colony was taken over by the English Crown, and became acrown colony. Governors were appointed by the ruling monarch to oversee the interests of the Crown. During theinterregnum period (1649–1660), when England came undercommonwealth rule and theprotectorate rule ofOliver andRichard Cromwell, those governments appointed Virginia's governors.[citation needed]William Berkeley, who was governor at the time of the execution ofKing Charles I, remained in office until the arrival of a Commonwealth fleet in 1651 led to his removal. Berkeley was returned to office by votes of the Virginia assembly and by appointment of the restoredKing Charles II in 1660.
^Bruce, Philip Alexander; Stanard, William Glover (April 11, 1894).The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. Virginia Historical Society. p. 34. RetrievedApril 11, 2018 – via Internet Archive.nicholas spencer acting governor virginia.
^Spencer, Nicholas (April 11, 2018). "Letter from Nicholas Spencer to His Brother".The William and Mary Quarterly.3 (2):134–136.doi:10.2307/1921516.JSTOR1921516.
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