How to Survive in the Roanoke Colony-Chapter 61: Fundamental Orders (1)

'All free and equal individuals of the Virginia community have gathered to establish governance in accordance with the Lord's will on this land, to elevate justice, to guarantee everyone's rightful rights, and to provide protection to those in need of protection.

We will provide goodwill and gifts to all who wish to be included in our community, and all who wish to be included in our community will return appropriate goodwill and gifts to the community.

Also...'

This was the 'Fundamental Orders of Virginia.'

More precisely, it was what Mr. Nemo had 'copied' and separately distributed to Bacon. Francis Bacon, now smoking tobacco he had learned from Manteo, slowly read through each clause.

After the meeting ended, the fundamental law, which Hewet, Harriot, Raleigh, and others had worked on for days and nights, contained all sorts of strange content.

A clause stating that there is no tax that the state can first demand from individuals, and that the state only gives gifts and takes returns.

A clause stating that since such gifts include land to cultivate, food to eat, and houses to live in, the government must provide such things.

A clause stating that since all individuals are equal before the Lord, an assembly should be established where everyone can vote regardless of status and gender to establish laws and solve various problems.

"..."

Many of the contents within the document still remain puzzling and unconvincing to contemporary analysts. The fascinating intersection of Algonquian customs and European common sense gave birth to remarkably strange and unique content that extended well beyond the established 'gift system.'

For example, the document contains a revolutionary clause stating that when someone dies intestate—without a specified will—property is distributed equally to all close relatives regardless of gender distinction. This progressive clause arose because many Algonquian communities maintained a matrilineal inheritance system, standing in stark contrast to European societies where patrilineal inheritance predominated. The Algonquian tradition of female leadership, including the presence of respected women chiefs, fundamentally shaped these inheritance provisions. Consequently, the document also enshrined women's right to vote—an extraordinary concept for the era that wouldn't be widely accepted in Western societies for centuries thereafter.

Religious freedom is likewise guaranteed throughout the text. This was not merely an idealistic inclusion but rather an inevitable practical clause necessary for Catholics, indigenous spirit worshippers, and Anglicans to coexist peacefully within the same governance framework. The pragmatic acknowledgment of religious plurality represented a significant departure from European norms of the period.

Various other progressive contents are included throughout the document... but they were not entirely unfamiliar to Bacon's experienced eyes, as they were all ultimately legitimized through the assembly's democratic verdict. These provisions, while revolutionary in many respects, maintained a framework of procedural legitimacy that satisfied European legal expectations while incorporating indigenous values and practices.

"..."

Bacon briefly puts down the document he was holding and watches people chattering in the distance.

Algonquians, Englishmen, and Spaniards were sharing jokes using a strange mixture of English and Algonquian language.

They were chatting amongst themselves while pulling out weeds and... suddenly, as if they remembered something, they made the sign of the cross while looking far away.

In the direction they turned, there was an excavator. The excavator was again pulling out tree roots and breaking rocks. It seemed to be preparing fields to distribute to new residents.

Bacon unconsciously makes the sign of the cross following them.

Everyone is equal, everyone is free, and everyone has what they need.

Those European philosophers and distinguished teachers would likely assert that such a community cannot last long. That soon disorder, chaos, lawlessness, and immorality would prevail, and humans and beasts would mix.

But... in Bacon's view.

This place was surprisingly peaceful.

And prosperous.

This 'Fundamental Orders of Virginia' does not operate on its own. Behind those clauses, there is another authority that supervises and supports it.

Therefore, this 'utopian' community can continue. This prosperity can continue.

Also... it can grow.

Listening carefully when the angel occasionally explains about his tools, they must be designed based on great scientific knowledge that people do not yet know well. They were clearly made through technologies too superior for people to possess.

But will it always be that way?

Will people never be able to make such things?

"Someday people will be able to explain everything in the language of mathematics! Certainly, that will happen!"

"..."

Bacon recalls the words Harriot had uttered.

"Ask, and I shall answer. Seek and seek again. Strive for knowledge and enlightenment. Ask. That is the second commandment I give to you."

Bacon also recalls the words the angel gave to his apostles.

...Perhaps.

There may come a day when this small community becomes a model for all mankind.

Someday this community might become greater than any kingdom on earth, and the seeds of knowledge that Mr. Nemo has sown might bear incredibly valuable fruit.

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Thinking this... Bacon unconsciously wrote a phrase in his notebook.

'New Atlantis.'

One of the pioneers of utopian literature that should be published in 1628 was being written here and now.

February 1594, on a hill on the east coast of America.

"Woooooooo!"

A cheer. As Bacon suddenly looked back, he saw a sail with an angel holding a saw and a lantern unfurled in the distance.

A newly built ship was being launched.

==

"Look!"

Raleigh points to a newly launched ship with a broad smile.

...It's a clipper.

A completed clipper. A fast transport vessel that can carry up to 8 cannons, enormous by the standards of this era.

The ultimate sailing vessel made with engineering plastic and 21st-century steel frames inside.

Now... for at least 200 years, no ship greater than this will emerge.

With that, we can travel across the Atlantic in just under a month. If we do well, we might even reach China or India.

"The clipper is here! That great ship has finally been launched on the coast of Virginia!"

Recalling all the hardships we went through to build it, I also got teary-eyed. Really, with just a few of these, we can transport almost any goods.