<Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Reconstructed chamber in Williamsburg Jamestown, Virginia (1619--1699) Williamsburg, Virginia (1699--1776) </Td> </Tr> <P> The Virginia House of Burgesses / ˈbɜːrdʒəsɪz / was the first legislative assembly of elected representatives in North America . The House was established by the Virginia Company, which created the body as part of an effort to encourage English craftsmen to settle in North America, and to make conditions in the colony more agreeable for its current inhabitants . </P> <P> From 1619 to 1776, the representative branch of the legislature of Virginia was the House of Burgesses, which governed in conjunction with a colonial governor and his council . Jamestown remained the capital of the Virginia colony until 1699, when the government was moved to Williamsburg . In 1776 the colony became the independent Commonwealth of Virginia and the House of Burgesses became the House of Delegates . </P> <P> Originally a synonym of burgher or bourgeois, the word "burgess" came to mean a borough representative in local or parliamentary government . </P>

When was the house of burgesses first established in colonial virginia