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Sir [[Walter Raleigh]] led an English exploration party in 1584. A group of men from England invested in a Joint Stock Company called "The Virginia Company" to find gold and other treasures. The company was granted lands in 1606 from what is now [[North Carolina]] to [[New York]], all under the name of "Virginia" after [[Queen Elizabeth I]] (known as the "Virgin Queen" as she never married). It established the first permanent settlement for England known as [[Jamestown]].<ref>[http://www.historyisfun.org/jamestown/jamestown.cfm Jamestown Settlement], accessed 10 March 2007</ref>

Sir [[Walter Raleigh]] led an English exploration party in 1584. A group of men from England invested in a Joint Stock Company called "The Virginia Company" to find gold and other treasures. The company was granted lands in 1606 from what is now [[North Carolina]] to [[New York]], all under the name of "Virginia" after [[Queen Elizabeth I]] (known as the "Virgin Queen" as she never married). It established the first permanent settlement for England known as [[Jamestown]].<ref>[http://www.historyisfun.org/jamestown/jamestown.cfm Jamestown Settlement], accessed 10 March 2007</ref>

Virginia declared independence from Britain in 1776 and became one of the original thirteen states of the United States.

Virginia declared independence from Britain in 1776 and became one of the original thirteen states of the United States.

 

From 1860 to 1865, Virginia was one of the [[Confederate States of America]] and as a result many counties in western Virginia seceded from Virginia and formed the state of [[West Virginia]].  The capital of the Confederacy was in [[Richmond]], the capital of Virginia. The eastern front of the [[American Civil War]] was largely fought in Virginia, namely the Shenandoah Valley.

==References==

==References==