gret to the English
government that Virginia should remain so entirely a rural country. Not
realizing that this was but the result of exceptional economic
conditions and not a sign of weakness or decay, they sought more than
once to force the building of towns by legislative enactments. Thus, in
1662, in accordance with the King's wishes, the Assembly passed an act
providing for the erection of thirty-two brick houses at Jamestown.[453]
Each county was required to build one of these houses, a levy of thirty
pounds of tobacco per poll being laid for that purpose. This attempt was
foredoomed to failure, for if economic conditions could not develop
cities in the colony, the mere erection of houses upon the unhealthful
Jamestown peninsula could accomplish nothing. We learn from Bacon's
Proceedings that the town at the time of the Rebellion consisted of "som
16 or 18 howses, ... and in them about a dozen families (for all the
howses are not inhabited) getting their liveings by keeping ordnaries,
at extraordnary rates". That there was corruption or inefficiency in
carrying out the orders of the Assembly seems certain. The people of
Isle of Wight county complained of "the great Quantities of Tobacco
levyed for Building Houses of publick use and reception at Jamestown,
which were not habitable, but fell downe before the Finishing of
them".[454]

There were also accusations of laxness and fraud in the erecting and
management of the public industrial plants. Very grievous taxes have
been laid on the poor people, it was claimed, "for building work houses
and stoare houses and other houses for the propogating & encouragem't of
handicraft and manufactury, which were by our Burgesses to our great
charge and burthen by their long and frequent sitting invented and
proposed. Yet for want of due care the said houses were never finished
or made useful, and the propagating & manufactury wholy in a short time
neglected, and noe good ever effected ... save the particular profitt of
the Undertakers, who (as is usually in such cases) were largely rewarded
for thus defrauding us."[455]

Even more frequent and bitter complaints originated with the
construction of forts upon the various rivers to protect the colony and
the merchant ships from foreign foes. At the outbreak of the war of 1664
it was resolved to build a fortress at Jamestown. The ships' masters
were not satisfied with the selection of this site, for obviously it
afforded no protec