Editing Jamestown, Virginia (section)

===1624–1699: Later years===
In 1624, King James revoked the Virginia Company's charter, and Virginia became a [[Crown colony|royal colony]]. Despite the setbacks, the colony continued to grow. Ten years later, in 1634, by order of [[Charles I of England|King Charles I]], the colony was divided into the original eight [[shires of Virginia]], in a fashion similar to that practiced in England. Jamestown was located in [[James City Shire]], soon renamed the "County of James City", better known in modern times as [[James City County, Virginia]], the nation's oldest county.

Another large-scale "Indian attack" occurred in 1644. In 1646 Opechancanough was captured, and while he was in custody an English guard shot him in the back—against orders—and killed him. Subsequently, the Powhatan Confederacy began to decline. Opechancanough's successor signed the first peace treaties between the Powhatan Indians and the English. The treaties required the Powhatan to pay yearly tribute payment to the English and confined them to reservations.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/jame/historyculture/powhatan-indian-lifeways.htm |title=Historic Jamestowne – Powhatan |publisher=NPS.gov |work=Historic Jamestowne |date=January 4, 2008 |access-date=September 22, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080924132642/http://www.nps.gov/jame/historyculture/powhatan-indian-lifeways.htm |archive-date=September 24, 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref>

A generation later, during [[Bacon's Rebellion]] in 1676, Jamestown was burned and eventually rebuilt. During its recovery, the Virginia legislature met first at Governor [[William Berkeley (governor)|William Berkeley]]'s nearby [[Green Spring Plantation]], and later at [[Middle Plantation (Virginia)|Middle Plantation]], which had been started in 1632 as a fortified community inland on the [[Virginia Peninsula]], about {{convert|8|mi|km}} distant.<ref name="Davidson">{{cite web |author=How Jamestown Got Us Started |url=http://www.americanheritage.com/content/four-centuries?page=2 |title=Four Centuries &#124; American History Lives at American Heritage |publisher=Americanheritage.com |access-date=December 25, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226210017/http://www.americanheritage.com/content/four-centuries?page=2 |archive-date=December 26, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> When the statehouse burned again in 1698, this time accidentally, the legislature again temporarily relocated to Middle Plantation and was able to meet in the new facilities of the [[College of William & Mary]], which had been established after receiving a royal charter in 1693. Rather than rebuilding at Jamestown again, the capital of the colony was moved permanently to Middle Plantation in 1699. The town was renamed [[Williamsburg, Virginia|Williamsburg]], to honor the reigning monarch, [[William III of England|King William III]]. A capitol building and "Governor's Palace" were erected there in the following years.