led
against the Bay Colony for her refusal to provide powder to fellow
Englishmen in need.

The war with Opechancanough continued throughout the fall and winter of
1644 and into the spring of 1645. At the Assembly of February 1645
provision was made for sending out the usual military parties. But in
addition three forts were ordered built: one in the Pamunkey territory,
one at the falls of the James, and a third along the Chickahominy.

Efforts were made to see that the expenses of the war were equitably
shared. The settlers at Northumberland, on the south bank of the
Potomac, were ordered to contribute to the cost of the war on the north
side of the James. Chickacoan, as the area was known at first, had
served for several years as a rallying point for Protestants disaffected
with the government of Lord Baltimore, but this was the first official
notice of the settlement by the Virginia Assembly. Settlement along the
Potomac was significant, of course, because it placed a body of citizens
farther from effective control than any had been in the past. It had
been hard enough for Harvey to control the citizens on the south side of
the York River; now two broad rivers, the York and Rappahannock, lay
between the frontier settlements and Jamestown.

The Assembly of February 1645 found time to deal with matters other than
the conduct of the war. It passed an act providing "That Free trade be
allowed to all the inhabitants of the collony to buy and sell at their
best advantage." Because some questions had been asked by the merchants
of London concerning a rumored prohibition of trade with them, it was
thought fit to explain that Virginia's free trade extended to them as to
other Englishmen.

Following Sir William Berkeley's return from England June 7, 1645,
vigorous measures were taken to end the protracted war with
Opechancanough, and a new Assembly was called to reform abuses which had
sprung up. This Assembly met in November and passed reform laws which
demonstrate the concern Berkeley had for satisfying all the legitimate
grievances of the people. Action was taken against innkeepers who
charged unreasonable rates and fraudulently mixed their wines and
liquors with water. Similar action was taken against millers who
overcharged the people. Attorneys at law who charged fees for their
services were expelled from office, the colony having become outraged
at their exactions. The prohibition against professional attorneys
con