these. It is evident that many of the shipwrights, who came to Virginia from England, found the life of a planter more desirable than that of a shipbuilder, while some of them combined the two occupations.

Controversies Over Boats

The Council and General Court of Virginia were called upon occasionally to settle controversies over vessels of various kinds and to hear reports concerning others. The following reports are from the records of the Court for 1622 to 1632.

At an early date, Robert Poole reported a trading voyage with the Indians for Mr. "Treasurer," in the pinnace Elizabeth, during which he gave ten arms length of blue beads for one tub of corn and over, and thirteen arms length for another tub. Anne Cooper complained that her late husband, Thomas Harrison, loaned a shallop to Lieutenant George Harrison, late deceased. It was ordered by the Court that she should receive one hundred pounds of merchantable tobacco from George Harrison's estate.

An argument between John Utie and Bryan Caught resulted in the order that the latter should build Utie a shallop eighteen feet, six inches keel; six feet, six inches breadth; with masts, oars, yard and rudder, and to find the 1100 nails and six score "ruff and clench" desired. Utie was to pay Bryan for building the shallop six score pound weight of tobacco, and to furnish the help of a boy and the boy's diet. Also, he was to pay Bryan six score pounds of tobacco for a boat previously built for him.

Captain Francis West, a member of the Council, desired that he be given the use of the Spanish frigate with all her tackle, apparel, munitions, masts, sails, yards, etc., that had been captured by John Powell, with a shallop built for that purpose, on an expedition to the West Indies in the man-of-war, Black Bess. He was required to pay 1200 pounds of tobacco to the captain and men.

In trading for corn for Southampton Hundred, John Powntis was allowed a barrel of the corn for the use of his pinnace.

Mr. Proctor had to pay Mr. Perry fifty pounds of tobacco for splitting Perry's shallop. Later, a shallop, which Edmund Barker sold to Mr. Rastall's men, was ordered returned to Mr. Perry, and Edmund Barker to be paid fifty pounds of tobacco for mending the shallop. To settle a charge against Thomas Westone by several men, he was ordered to appear before the Governor with his pinnace. At a later meeting, Thomas Ramshee swore that Westone was owner of the ship Sparrow and "did set her out of his own charge, from London to Virginia." This was an early seagoing vessel of a colonist, but whether built in Virginia, or purchased, is not stated.

Nicholas Weasell received the most severe penalty, in cases concerning boats, when he was ordered to serve Henry Geny the rest of the year from February, for taking away Geny's boat without leave, "whereupon it was bilged and spoiled."

Captain Claiborne purchased a shallop with appurtenances from Captain John Wilcox who had been "at the plantation called Accomack" since 1621. He paid Wilcox 400 pounds of tobacco for the shallop, and sold it to Thomas Harwood. Captain Wilcox failed to make delivery, and the court ordered the attorney of Captain Wilcox to make satisfaction to Thomas Harwood.

The court was called upon to settle a controversy between Captain William Tucker and Mr. Roland Graine about a boat. A Mrs. Hurte was named as the owner of another ship in the colony, the Truelove, formerly owned by John Cross, deceased in England. A much discussed case was that of William Bentley, on trial for the killing of Thomas Godby, which resulted when Mr. Conge's boat ran ashore at Merry Point, near William Parker's house. While there, Bentley, who had arrived in the boat, got into a quarrel and fight with Godby, and was accused of killing him.

These Court records show that most of the cases concerned vessels built in the colony: boats, pinnaces, and shallops. The ships mentioned were evidently of English make. The shallop was the most popular boat for use in the colony. It was a small boat from sixteen to twenty feet in length, fitted with one or two masts and oars, and suitable for exploring the creeks and rivers, collecting corn from the Indians, and transporting tobacco to waiting ships.

Shipbuilding on the Eastern Shore

The Eastern Shore records are among the earliest in Virginia. Shipbuilding in the early days has been ably discussed by Dr. Susie M. Ames in Studies of the Virginia Eastern Shore in the Seventeenth Century. In 1630, John Toulson, or Poulson, built a pinnace at Nassawadox in which he had one-half interest. Richard Newport, one of Captain Christopher Newport's sons, while living in Northampton County, bought a shallop from the carpenter, Thomas Savage, for the use of the merchant, Henry Brookes, for which Savage was paid twenty pounds sterling. William Berry, another Eastern Shore carpenter, made an agreement with Philip Taylor, one of William Claiborne's men, during the Kent Island controversy, to make him a boat, twenty by ten feet, provided Taylor furnished the boards for the deck between the forecastle and the cabin. For this, Berry was to receive two cows with calf and four hundred pounds of tobacco. During the dispute over Kent Island, a pinnace, belonging to Captain Claiborne, was taken by the Marylanders.

Obedience Robins, a well-known citizen of the Eastern Shore, acquired from the boatwright, William Stevens, a shallop, twenty-six feet in length, with masts, yards, and oars. He owned a pinnace also, which he had named Accomack. A number of lawsuits on the Eastern Shore in the 1640's, involved boats and ship materials. Philip Taylor was indebted to William Stevens for one house, four days on a shallop, valued at one pound sterling, six gallons of tar, and 1250 nails of various sizes. Payment was ordered made to the overseers of the estate of Daniel Cugley of one small boat, twenty-four yards of canvas, twenty gallons of tar, and ninety ten-grote nails, supplies for making a boat. Another court order concerned the delivery of a boat, and 3500 six-penny nails lent by John Neale. Ambrose Nixon testified that he and his mate had built a boat for Randall Revell. In 1638, two planters of Accomack, Nicholas White and one Barnaby, made voyages to New England in their own vessels. The names of Walter Price and Christopher Stribling shipwrights are listed in the early records of Northampton County.

Encouragement for the Building of Ships

The General Assembly of Virginia encouraged shipbuilding by such laws as those enacted during 1662: "Be it enacted that every one that shall build a small vessel with a deck be allowed, if above twenty and under fifty tons, fifty pounds of tobacco per ton; if above fifty and under one hundred tons, one hundred pounds of tobacco per ton; if above one hundred tons, two hundred pounds per ton. Provided the vessel is not sold except to an inhabitant of this country in three years."

Other encouragement by Virginia to owners of vessels, built by them, was the exemption of the two shillings export duties per hogshead of tobacco; the exemption from castle duties; the reduction to two pence per gallon on imported liquor from the four pence required of foreign vessels; and the exemption from duties imposed on shipmasters on entering and clearing, and for licenses and bond where necessary.

The English government discouraged manufacture in the colonies that would compete with home manufactures, but the building of ships was an exception. England needed ships and granted the colonies the right to build as many as they could. Throughout the whole period of royal government, there were enacted various laws remitting the duties on imports brought in on native ships and remission of tonnage duties. This aroused the resentment of the English shipbuilders, who had endeavored to put a stop to the building of ships of any size in the colonies.