with the King's project, Chichester was to proceed as directed in such an eventuality, i.e., to give the whole territory to Undertakers or old patentees; but all the natives were to be put back into possession of the lands already in the hands of the new patentees, until evicted by due course of law.
Chichester thereupon proceeded to distribute 23,300 acres among eighteen Undertakers, all Englishmen, and of course Protestants. To his nephew he gave 4000 acres, to his son-in-law 1000. To eight more Undertakers he was preparing to give 5,840 acres. But he forbore to carry out the full severity of the Council's order, as he thought that the London authorities would finally wish to give the old inhabitants some satisfaction, and so reserved 36,860 acres for them.[1]
He was right in his suppositions. The Council in England suddenly veered round again and, in December, 1615, sent Chichester letters of general restraint. They decided to adhere to the scheme of August, 1614, namely, to give three-quarters of the lands to the old proprietors and ordered that the new patentees should surrender their grants.[2]
Chichester of course protested against this in a letter to the Lord Carew, but he suggested that if his nephew Trevilian gave up his 4000 acres there would only remain 2,800 acres to be cut off from the Undertakers and that they "will undoubtedly
