Which early colonial

government was more like a

Republic?

Jamestown was founded by a private corporation chartered by King James I, the Virginia Company. It was originally governed by a council, usually run by a council president, until 1619, when it formed a general assembly, reputedly the first representative government in British North America.

Starting in 1 61 9, it was governed by a

democratically elected body. That body still exists today 400 years later the

Virginia General Assembly It is the oldest

continuous democratic institution anywhere in the Americas.