Governors came and went, were good or bad, strong or
weak. There were troubles with the Indians, and troubles at home
about the sale of tobacco; still the colony lived and prospered.
The early days of struggle were over.
Virginia now was no longer looked upon as a place of exile where with
luck one could make a fortune and return home to England to enjoy
it. Men now began to find Virginia a pleasant place, and look upon
it as their home. The great woods were full of game, the streams
were full of fish, so that the Englishman could shoot and angle to
his heart's content. The land was so fertile that he did not need
to work half so hard to earn a living as he had to do at home;
while the climate was far kindlier.
So the colony prospered. And it was to this prosperous colony
that in 1642 Sir William Berkeley was appointed Governor. He was
a courtly, hot-tempered, imperious gentleman, a thorough cavalier
who dressed in satin and lace and ruled like a tyrant. He did not
believe in freedom of thought, and he spent a good deal of time
persecuting the Puritans who had found refuge in Virginia.
For just about the time of Berkeley's appointment a fierce religious
war between Cavalier and Puritan was beginning in England, and
already some Puritans had fled to Virginia to escape persecution
at home. But Berkeley soon showed them that they had come to the
wrong place and bade them "depart the Colony with all convenience.
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