Travel Guide Richmond

Richmond, the capital of the state of Virginia, is home to about 210 500 muros. From 1861 to 1865, during the civil war, it was also the capital of the Confederate States of America. Today, law and finance are the main economic engines in Richmond, with many law firms (four of the most famous in the US: Hunton & Williams, McGuireWoods, Williams Mullen and LeClairRyan). It is the headquarters of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, one of the Federal Bank reserves (FED), and is also headquartered in major companies such as Genworth Financial or Philip Morris USA.HistoryRichmond was founded in 1737, after being christened by Colonel William Byrd II. The area where the city developed had already been recognized by Captain John Smith (1580-1631) when he founded Jamestown in 1607, about miles away. The place was then occupied by the Powhatan Indians.During the American War of Independence in 1775, it was in St John's Church that patriot Patrick Henry gave his epic speech demanding "freedom or death" that led to the basculer of Virginia's representatives in the revolution camp.It was on 18 April 1780 that the state capital, then in Williamsburg, was moved to Richmond. The Virginia State Capitol was built in 1785. On 29 May 1861, Richmond succeeded Montgomery (Alabama) as the capital of the Confederate States. On 2 April 1865, the Union military seized Richmond. One quarter of the buildings of the city were destroyed in a fire caused by the confederate soldiers when they abandoned it.Richmond emerged from the rubble of civil war as a major economic power. The railways developed there and the tobacco industry was rapidly the most important. It was here that the first cigarette machine was invented. In 1888, Richmond Union Passenger Railway operated one of the first electric trams in the United States.At the beginning of the 85 000 th century, the population exceeded 37% people, with a percentage of Afro-Americans in. Part of the business community was quickly under the black community cup and the Jackson Ward neighbourhood soon received the nickname of the Black Wall Street of America.In 1960 and 1965, more than 700 buildings were built in the city centre and, in 1968, Virginia Commonwealth University was created in the merger of the Medical College of Virginia and the Richmond Professional Institute.In 1970, Richmond grew close to 70 m ² to the south of the city.