If the indigenous peoples could not be exploited,
reasoned the Virginia Company, perhaps the colonists
could. The new model of colonial development entailed the
Virginia Company owning all the land. Men were housed in
barracks, and given company-determined rations. Work
gangs were chosen, each one overseen by an agent of the
company. It was close to martial law, with execution as the
punishment of first resort. As part of the new institutions for