A View From Middle England - Conservative with a slight libertarian touch - For Christian charity and traditional belief - Free Enterprise NOT Covert Corporatism

Thursday, April 26, 2007

400 Years of English America!

Can it be 400 years since the English first laid down a permanent settlement in Virginia? Named after the first Queen Elizabeth (Sir Walter Raleigh was a flatterer as much as anything else), Virginia is about to receive the second Queen Elizabeth for a State Visit to celebrate the 400 years.

Americans tend to say that their's is a young country, by which they mean the United States. In actual fact, it is an evolving nation, which has only been in its current condition for 50 years. The period from 1607 to 1777 is a long time. 170 years to be precise. Several generations lived in British America before the Revolution was completed. The Commonwealth of Virginia is the place to learn about these people - a people who had divided loyalties and a choice to make at the time the country became the forerunner of the USA we know today. Many left to reside in Canada, some returned to England, a country they knew little about.

The tragedy of last week's senseless shootings can be brought to a partial conclusion by the celebrations of American history that brings the values handed down over the four centuries to present day Virginians. These people are steeped in history, but alive to the realities of the world. They say that every American should stand in Jamestown, but I think it would be good if everybody could try to stand there.

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