Virginia Company History & People

Shakespeare's History &
People

Biographies

People Home

Alleyn, Edward (1566 - 1626)

Edward Alleyn. By T. Nugent, published by E. Evans, after Samuel Harding, after Unknown artist stipple engraving,published March 1792 (1626). From the National Portrait Gallery.

Actor, theatre entrepreneur, and founder of Dulwich College.

Edward Alleyn was one of the leading actors of the Early Modern stage.  He led the Admiral's Men, the chief competitor of Shakespeare's company.  His best-known roles include the title character in Tamburlaine the Great by Christopher Marlowe and Doctor Faustus in the play Doctor Faustus, also by Marlowe.  Alleyn's estate was quite substantial upon his death and his assets went to found Dulwich College, a preparatory school in England.
An "Edward Allen" appears in Virginia Company records.  Spelling in the Early Modern period was inconsistent, and it may be that the actor was also an investor in the Virginia Company; he certainly had the means to invest a great sum of money at any of the junctures of the Virginia Company history.

Beaumont, Francis (1584/5-1616)

Playwright.

Known primarily for his collaborative work with fellow playwright, John Fletcher, Francis Beaumont became one of London's preeminent playwrights, at times surpassing Shakespeare's popularity. With Fletcher, Beaumont wrote plays for London boys' companies and for the King's Men, including Philaster, The Maid's Tragedy, and A King and No King. He also wrote Knight of the Burning Pestle and several court masques on his own.

Berkeley, Sir William (1605 - 1677)

Sir William Berkeley was Governor of Virginia beginning in 1641 and a playwright.

In 1632 he secured an appointment to the privy chamber of Charles I, which led to his association with a court literary circle known as 'the Wits', and to social connections that stood him well for the rest of his life.  He wrote several plays, one of which - The Lost Lady, a Tragi-Comedy (1638) - was performed for Charles I and Henrietta Maria.

In the spring of 1641, he concluded that his usefulness at court was at an end and turned elsewhere for preferment.  He toyed with the idea of moving to Constantinople, but abruptly decided that settling in Virginia held better prospects and in August 1641 purchased the office of governor from the incumbent, Sir Francis Wyatt.
Berkeley landed at Jamestown in 1642 and set about joining the ranks of the colony's planter elite.  He acquired land west of Jamestown, where he built Green Spring House and conducted numerous agricultural trials as he searched for substitutes for tobacco and markets for them.  Within five years, he was exporting rice, spirits, fruits, silk, flax, and potash through an extensive network of commercial contacts.  He also immersed himself in real estate development and the American Indian trade, which led to his interest in developing Jamestown and discovering land beyond the Virginia frontiers.

Berkeley deepened his devotion to the colony.  He became its chief promoter and saw its future prosperity as lying hand-in-hand with freedom from London's direction.  Autonomy would enable it to thrive as a deferential, closely-knit community with a diversified economy that was linked to free markets around the Atlantic rim.  Such a Virginia, he thought, would benefit England and also profit him.
     Dictionary of National Biography, Warren M. Billings

Burbage, James (c. 1531-1597)

Actor, Theatre Entrepreneur, father of Richard Burbage.

James Burbage was one of the actors selected for the Queen's Company in 1583, signifying that his talents were appreciated even at the highest levels of culture and entertainment after years as the leading actor in the Earl of Leicester's Men.  As an actor (and by 1583, an employee of Queen Elizabeth), Burbage amassed enough money to fund construction of The Theatre, London's first purpose-built theatre.  The lease on land ran out and The Theatre was taken apart and likely rebuilt as the Globe Playhouse in Bankside.  As part of the relocation, the Burbage family also purchased the Blackfriars playhouse (which had been home to a London boys' company) and had it renovated.  Despite Burbage's efforts, residents of the Blackfriars district prevented the King's Men, whose leading actor was James' son, Richard, from performing.

There a no known connections between James Burbage and the Virginia Company, but his influence in financing the King's Men's theatrical endeavors, including the Globe and Blackfriars, cannot go unnoticed in any discussion of Shakespeare or his playhouses.

Carey, Henry, First Baron Hunsdon (1526-1596)

Lord Chamberlain, Theatre Patron

Carey took patronage of Shakespeare's company in 1594 and it became known as the Lord Chamberlain's Men. The Lord Chamberlain was a government office responsible for the stewardship of the monarch's household (then, Queen Elizabeth I). Upon his death, his son, George Garey, assumed the role of Lord Chamberlain and patron of the playing company.

Cavendish, William second earl of Devonshire (1590 - 1628)

Sir William Cavendish was a well-known, well-established member of the Virginia Company. It is likely he attended plays with his father, William, First Earl. The Cavendish household books at his home in Chatsworth, Derbyshire, list the elder Cavendish going to plays at Paul's (a London boys' company), Blackfriars, and several other plays between 1600 and 1603.

Chapman, George (1559/60-1634)

Playwright and poet

As a burgeoning poet, Chapman frequented courtly literary circles that included Sir Walter Raleigh (who led an expedition to the New World during Elizabeth I's reign). By the late 1590s, Chapman became the leading playwright of the Lord Admiral's Men and wrote notable work for a London boys' company, the Children of the Queen's Revels (also known as the Blackfriars' boys, because they performed in James Burbage's Blackfriars playhouse). His most popular and highly regarded work includes Eastward, Ho!, which he co-wrote with Ben Jonson and John Marston.

Charles I

King Charles I. King Charles I by Gerrit van Honthorst oil on canvas,1628. From the National Portrait Gallery

King of England, Scotland, and Ireland.

Charles was the son and successor to King James VI/I. When James died in 1625, Charles assumed the throne as well as patronage of the King's Men. When the Virginia Company dissolved, Charles gained direct control over the Virginian colony (since the Company no longer had control or jurisdiction). Along with his consort, Queen Henrietta Maria, he continued royal support of plays and playgoing throughout his reign, elevating the profile of the King's Men.

Throughout his reign, Charles struggled with puritanical elements of society to the extent that a puritan Parliament waged war on Charles and eventually captured and beheaded him. His son, Charles II, was named King under the protection of the "Lord Protector," Oliver Cromwell (himself a member of the Virginia Company in its early days). This onset of the English civil war led to the closure of England's playhouses and the end of the English "Renaissance."

Cope, Sir Walter (1553?  - 1614)

Sir Walter Cope was a gentleman usher for Queen Elizabeth I's secretary, William Cecil, the Lord Burghley.  In 1603, he was one of the dignitaries that traveled to Scotland to formally greet James and accompany him on the journey to London.  Some years later, he arranged for the King's Men to revive Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost to entertain Queen Anne at Cecil's house.

William Crashaw

Preacher for Inner and Middle Temples, Puritan religious leader.

William Crashaw, a graduate of St. John's College, Cambridge, was preacher of the Inner and Middle Temples, two of Londons premier law schools, but lost his position in 1615. The platform of the Templar pulpit allowed Crashaw's anti-Catholic, anti-play rhetoric to take hold in some of London's culturally conservative circles. During his tenure at the temples, we acquired a large library, much of which was left in the possession of Henry Wriothesley, the Earl of Southhampton, who was also a graduate of St. John's.

Day, John (1574-1640?)

Playwright

He entered Caius College, Cambridge in 1592, but was later expelled. He wrote many dramatic works in collaboration with other playwrights such as Henry Chettle, Thomas Dekker, William Haughton, and the co-authors of The Travels of the Three English Brothers, George Wilkins and William Rowley. The exact date of Day’Äôs death is unknown, but the poet John Tatham published an elegy for Day in 1640.

Eldred, John (1552 - 1632)

Merchant and Explorer, member of the King's Council for Virginia.

John Eldred led an expedition from England toward the East, looking to develop a trade route to the Middle East and India.  Elder's ship was called The Tygre and became famous - particularly in London - after Eldred's expedition landed at Syria and continued to Aleppo and Baghdad.  Eldred's exploits were recorded in his own published accounts; these contributed to the culture of exploration and discovery at the beginning of the 17th century.  Shakespeare refers to Eldred's ship and to the expedition to Aleppo in Macbeth: "Her husband's to Aleppo gone, Master of The Tygre."

Eldred was involved in Virginia Company affairs early on as a member of King James' exclusive Council for Virginia.

Fletcher, John (1579 - 1625)

John Fletcher. After Unknown artist oil on canvas,late 17th century (circa 1620). From the National Portrait Gallery.

Between 1598 and 1625, John Fletcher was responsible for more than fifty plays.

Fletcher's first plays were written for a London boys company.  In 1608, he and his collaborator, Francis Beaumont, began writing for the King's Men when that company moved into Blackfriars.  By 1614, Fletcher was the de facto successor to William Shakespeare as the King's Men's leading playwright.  Fletcher is believed to have collaborated in Shakespeare on such works as The Two Noble Kinsmen, and Henry VIII.

Two of Fletcher's plays, The Island Princess and The Sea Voyage, deal directly with issues of colonization, America, and, in a broad sense, the Virginia territory.

A "John Fletcher" appears on the list of stockholders for the Virginia Company, though there is no way to determine whether the playwright is that person.  Nonetheless, Fletcher's involvement with the King's Men as well as his interest in the topicality of exploration and Virginia indicate that he was, as a dramatist, guiding some of the earliest conceptions of Virginia and the New World.

Henrietta Maria (1609-1669)

Henrietta Maria after Sir Anthony Van Dyck oil on canvas,(circa 1632-1635). From the National Portrait Gallery.

Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland, consort of Charles I.

Henrietta Maria, like her husband, Charles I, and her father-in-law, James VI/I, was a great lover of theatre and court entertainments.  An avid playgoer and arts patron, she visited the Blackfriars playhouse on at least one occasion.  She also performed in several courtly entertainments.

The state of Maryland is named in honor of Henrietta Maria and was involved in some Virginia and New World endeavors alongside her husband.

Herbert, Philip, first earl of Montgomery and fourth earl of Pembroke (1584 - 1650)

Philip Herbert. Reduced copy after Sir Anthony Van Dyck oil on canvas,(circa 1635-1640). From National Portrait Gallery.

Courtier and politician, the younger son of Henry Herbert (d. 1601 - a theatre patron different from the Henry Herbert listed above), second earl of Pembroke and younger brother of William Herbert, third earl of Pembroke.

Philip Herbert was a favorite of King James and a member of the Virginia Company and its council after 1612.  He was also a member of the Northwest Passage Company, the Guyana Company, and the East India Company.

As a member of the court, Herbert was also a very notable literary patron.  Many works were dedicated to Herbert, including Shakespeare's First Folio of 1623, whose dedication he shared with his brother, William Herbert.  Herbert was a patron of the King's Men playwright, Philip Massinger.

Herbert, Sir Henry (1594- 1673)

Master of the Revels.

The Master of the Revels was a public office responsible for licensing - and censoring - theatrical works and performances.  If the King's Men wanted to perform a play, the play first had to be vetted by Herbert.  This meant that the relationship between the King's Men and Herbert was often quite strained, including a particularly nasty legal altercation over a production of John Fletcher's A Tamer Tamed.

A Henry Herbert is listed as a Virginia Company investor.

Herbert, William, third earl of Pembroke (1580-1630)

William Herbert. after Daniel Mytens oil on canvas,circa 1625. From National Portrait Gallery.

Courtier and patron of the arts, son of Henry Herbert, second earl of Pembroke.

Shakespeare's sonnets, published by Thomas Thorpe in 1609, bore a dedication to W. H. and some scholars have suggested that this was Pembroke.  In any case, it is certain that he and his brother Philip were the dedicatees of the First Folio of William Shakespeare in 1623.  Pembroke's personal relationship with Shakespeare is a murky subject, but he certainly knew and patronized some of the Bard's associates, such as Richard Burbage, Ben Jonson, and Edward Alleyn.  The earl may also have protected Thomas Middleton when in 1624 his anti-Spanish play A Game at Chess appeared.

William and his brother Philip were members of the Virginia Company.
     Dictionary of National Biography, Victor Stater (first paragraph)

Heywood, Thomas (c. 1573-1641)

Actor and Playwright

Heywood made his was in London playgoing and literary circles as a player-writer for the Lord Admiral's Men and, later, Queen Anne's Men. Heywood was a prolific playwright, poet, and translator, whose notable work includes Edward IV (in two parts), A Woman Killed with Kindness, The Fair Maid of the West, and his prose work An Apology for Actors. It is commonly believed that he had a hand in Sir Thomas More with William Shakespeare.

James VI/I

James VI/I. after John De Critz the Elder oil on panel,early 17th century (circa 1606). From National Portrait Gallery.

King of England, Scotland, and Ireland.

James VI of Scotland ascended to the English throne upon Elizabeth's death in 1603, becoming James I of England. As king, James quickly assumed patronage of the Lord Chamberlain's Men, who then became known as the King's Men. It is widely believed that Shakespeare's Macbeth was written for and performed in honor of James.

Though Elizabeth had begun English exploration of the New World ("Virginia" was named in honor of Queen Elizabeth, the "virgin" queen), including Sir Walter Raleigh's foiled attempt to colonize, it was James who undertake the most ambitious of Britain's colonial programs. He founded the King's Council for Virginia and, through a series of royal charters, incorporated the Virginia Company. Jamestown is named in honor of him. Though the Virginia Company sputtered and eventually collapsed in its first one and a half decades, James was clearly invested in the idea of colonization as a means of foreign policy (an English presence in America mitigated to some degree the presence of the French, Spanish, and Dutch) and as an avenue for creating a new nationalism that unified, to some extent ,the two distinct countries over which he ruled.

Jonson, Ben (1572-1637)

Ben Jonson. by Abraham van Blyenberch oil on canvas,circa 1617. From National Portrait Gallery.

Poet and playwright.

Ben Jonson wrote plays for the Lord Chamberlain's/King's Men both at the Globe and the Blackfriars.  He also wrote poems, speeches, and masques for King James on several occasions, including James' accession celebration.

William Knollys, Earl of Banbury

William Knollys. possibly by Simon De Passe, published by Compton Holland line engraving,published circa 1618-1619. From National Portrait Gallery.

Courtier to Elizabeth I.

William Knollys likely attended the 1602/3 performance of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night before Queen Elizabeth at Middle Temple Hall. It is believed that Knollys was a long-time admirer of Queen Elizabeth and hoped to gain favor with her for a possible marriage. Knollys methods for attracting Elizabeth's attention were somewhat suspect, however, as he dyed his hair and beard and purportedly donned brightly-colored stockings as well. While Knollys became known throughout the culture as "party beard," some believe Shakespeare incorporated Knollys strange behaviors into his play as the character Malvolio, who dons bright yellow stockings in hopes of gaining favor with Olivia.

Marston, John (1575/6-?)

Playwright.

Born to John Marston, a lawyer of the Middle Temple, and Maria Guarsi. He graduated from Brasenose College, Oxford, in 1593 or 1594 and moved to London to begin his own study of the law in 1595. He later abandoned his plans for a legal career and began publishing poetry and satire. Two of his satirical publications were banned in 1599 for obscene content, under an act which led to a ban on satire in general. After this, Marston turned to writing plays, beginning by writing Histriomastix as a Christmas entertainment for the Middle Temple Hall, and several works for the boys acting company the Children of St. Paul’Äôs. His major works include Antonio and Mellida, The Malcontent, Sophinisba, and his collaboration with Ben Jonson and George Chapman, Eastward, Ho!. Jonson had earlier satirized Marston’Äôs signature writing style in the character of Crispinus in Poetaster. Marston withdrew from his playwrighting career soon after collaborating on Eastward, Ho! in order to take religious orders.

Middleton, Thomas (1580-1627)

Playwright.

When Thomas was about five or six his father died.  In 1586 his mother remarried Thomas Harvey who returned to England after 'one whole yeare & more in very miserable Case' in Sir Walter Raleigh's attempt to colonize Roanoke.  Middleton likely had a hand in Shakespeare's Macbeth and wrote several highly successful plays in the period, including work for the King's Men.

A Thomas Middleton appears in Virginia Company records; this may be the playwright or the Lord Mayor of London by the same name or another Thomas Middleton entirely.

Parker, William (1574/5 - 1622)

Essex conspirator and King's Council for Virginia member; discovered of Gunpowder Plot.

William Parker was knighted by the Earl of Essex while on a military campaign; Parker's close ties to Essex led him to take part in the rebellion of 1601, in which the Earl attempted to stage a coup d'etat.  The day before the attempted coup, the Essex conspirators hired Shakespeare's company to perform Richard II and Parker attended.

Many of the conspirators were executed; Parker paid a massive fine.  As a result of the performance, several members of Shakespeare's company were called to testify in court about their participation in the rebellion.  No charges were issued against Shakespeare or his fellows.

Parker was one of the very early investors in the Virginia Company and became a member of the Council for Virginia in 1609.

Strachey, William (1572-1621)

Historian of Virginia.

Strachey's father was likely the pageant master in charge of one of London's several boys' companies that performed dramatic works after far back as the mid-16th century.  As a result, Strachey grew up in the theatre and his affinity for theatre meant he encountered playwrights like Ben Jonson and William Shakespeare. 

Strachey was a published poet by 1605, but never saw the success that Shakespeare, Jonson, and others had.  By 1609, he was out on his luck and invested some of his dwindling funds in the Virginia Company.  He then joined an expedition to Jamestown to seek his fortunes there.  Unfortunately for Strachey, the ship he sailed in, The Sea Venture, was caught in a hurricane and ran aground in Bermuda.  The ship's captain was Christopher Newport (after whom Virginia's Newport News is named).  Strachey and Newport were stranded on Bermuda for nearly a year; eventually they made it to Virginia.  Strachey, ever the writer, recorded his adventures in Bermuda and Virginia.  Shakespeare likely based the shipwreck that happens in the first act of The Tempest on Strachey's experience.

Massinger, Philip (1583-1640)

Philip Massinger. after Thomas Cross stipple engraving,(1623). From National Portrait Gallery.

Playwright.

Philip Massinger took over as chief playwright for the King's Men after John Fletcher (Shakespeare's immediate successor).  Massinger's patrons included the Herbert family.

Montagu, James (1568-1618)

James Montagu. by Simon De Passe line engraving,published 1620. From National Portrait Gallery.

Bishop of Winchester, Member of Virginia Company.

As Bishop of Winchester, Montagu was an influential member of the clergy and the court when James named him to the King's Council of Virginia.

The Bishop of Winchester's house was historically located in Southwark just a couple of hundred yards from Shakespeare's Globe.  During Shakespeare's tenure at the Globe, the Winchester house was in great disrepair, often frequented by prostitutes, thieves, and criminals.  Montagu invested a great deal in the estate and in 1617-18, hosted a grand reopening of the complex.  Shakespeare's Globe was still doing great business in 1617 with John Fletcher as its chief playwright; it is possible (if not likely) that Montagu's restoration of the Winchester house had something to do with the Globe's popularity and the revitalization of the south bank of the Thames river. 

Rowley, William(1585?-?)

Playwright.

He was an actor with the Queen Anne’Äôs Men, and later with the Duke of York’Äôs Men, which became the Prince Charles’Äô Men in 1612. As an actor, he played such roles as Plumporridge in The Inner Temple Masque, and the Fat Bishop in A Game at Chess, both by his colleague Thomas Middleton. Rowley collaborated in writing plays with such other Early Modern playwrights as Middleton, Thomas Heywood, John Ford, and Phillip Massinger.

Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

William Shakespeare. attributed to John Taylor oil on canvas, feigned oval,circa 1610. From National Portrait Gallery.

Playwright and poet.

William Shakespeare was an actor and writer with the Lord Chamberlain's/King's Men and during his career was involved in writing approximately 40 plays, including several plays written expressly for Queen Elizabeth I and James VI/I.  Shakespeare's prowess as a playwright and the King's Men's unparalleled success meant that the company was held very closely by James, the company's patron.  As a result, Shakespeare and his leading actor, Richard Burbage, must have known and conversed in several circles at court, which impacted what he was writing.

His first patron, Henry Wriothesley, was intensely involved in the Virginia exploration.  The Tempest, believed to be Shakespeare's final play, is based in part on William Strachey's account of the shipwrecked Sea Venture and its ill-fated voyage to Virginia.

Wilkins, George(1575?-?)

Playwright.

Wilkins is probably best known as a possible collaborator with William Shakespeare. Many scholars believe that Wilkins had a hand in writing Pericles and possibly Timon of Athens. Wilkins was born around 1575. He was associated with the acting company The King’Äôs Men, of which Shakespeare was a member. Wilkins spent much of his literary career reworking older plays. In 1607, he co-authored, along with John Day and William Rowley, The Travels of the Three English Brothers.

Wriothesley, Henry, third earl of Southampton (1573-1624)

Henry Wriothesley. after Daniel Mytens oil on canvas, feigned oval,circa 1618?. From National Portrait Gallery.

Courtier and Literary Patron, Advocate of Virginian exploration and colonization.

Shakespeare sought the help of a literary patron when the playhouses in London closed due to plague outbreaks throughout the 1590s.  Shakespeare wrote his Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece for Southampton during these outbreaks.  When Shakespeare joined the Lord Chamberlain's Men in 1594, he ostensibly left Southampton's patronage for the fulltime employment offered in the company.

Southampton was one of the supporters of the Earl of Essex who was involved in the attempted coup of February 1601, which probably indicates his presence at the Globe for the infamous staging of Richard II on the day before.  Southampton was sentenced to death, but his sentence was commuted by Elizabeth.  He was a staunch supporter of James prior to his accession in 1603; as a result of this support, James immediately pardoned Southampton in 1603.  James' queen, Anne, paid special attention to Southampton and in 1603, she attended a production of Love's Labour's Lost by the King's Men and Southampton's estate (referred to by Walter Cope above).

Southampton was an avid supporter of colonial efforts in Virginia.  He became a member of the company's governing council 1609 and was named company treasurer in 1620 (a post which he held until the company went defunct in 1624).  He was instrumental in holding the company together in its final months of operation; as a result, he was awarded twenty shares of Virginia land.  Even today, several places in Virginia commemorate Southampton's influence, including the city of Hampton, Hampton Roads harbor, and what was once called the Southampton River.