document_title: Colony of Virginia

question_text: who organized the native resistance to the british

question_tokens: who organized the native resistance to the british

text: Colony of Virginia

text: Names and etymology[edit]

text: Virginia[edit]

text:
History of Virginia

By year
Pre-statehood
American Revolution
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Topics: Cities - Politics - Slavery

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text: The name "Virginia" is the oldest designation for English claims in North America. In 1584, Sir Walter Raleigh sent Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe to explore what is now the North Carolina coast, and they returned with word of a regional king (weroance) named Wingina, who ruled a land supposedly called Wingandacoa.

text: The name Virginia for a region in North America may have been originally suggested by Sir Walter Raleigh, named for Queen Elizabeth I, in approximately 1584.[5] In addition the term Wingandacoa may have influenced the name Virginia."[6][7] On his next voyage, Raleigh learned that while the chief of the Secotans was indeed called Wingina, the expression wingandacoa heard by the English upon arrival actually meant "What good clothes you wear!" in Carolina Algonquian, and was not the name of the country as previously misunderstood.[8] "Virginia" was originally a term used to refer to North America's entire eastern coast from the 34th parallel (close to Cape Fear) north to 48th parallel. This area included a large section of Canada and the shores of Acadia.[citation needed]

text: The colony was also known as the Virginia Colony, the Province of Virginia, and occasionally as the Dominion and Colony of Virginia or His Majesty's Most Ancient Colloney and Dominion of Virginia[9][10]

text: Old Dominion[edit]

text: In gratitude for the loyalty of Virginians to the crown during the English Civil War, Charles II gave it the title of "Old Dominion".[citation needed] The colony seal stated from Latin, 'Behold, Virginia gives the fifth", with Virginia claimed as the fifth English dominion after England, France, Scotland and Ireland.

text: The state of Virginia maintains "Old Dominion" as its state nickname. The athletic teams of the University of Virginia are known as the "Cavaliers," referring to supporters of Charles II, and Virginia has another state public university called "Old Dominion University".

text: History[edit]

text: Although Spain, France, Sweden, and the Netherlands all had competing claims to the region, none of these prevented the English from becoming the first European power to colonize successfully the Mid-Atlantic coastline. Earlier attempts had been made by the Spanish in what is now Georgia (San Miguel de Gualdape, 1526–27; several Spanish missions in Georgia between 1568 and 1684), South Carolina (Santa Elena, 1566–87), North Carolina (Joara, 1567–68) and Virginia (Ajacán Mission, 1570–71); and by the French in South Carolina (Charlesfort, 1562–63). Farther south, the Spanish colony of Spanish Florida, centered on St. Augustine, was established in 1565, while to the north, the French were establishing settlements in what is now Canada (Charlesbourg-Royal briefly occupied 1541–43; Port Royal, established in 1605).

text: Elizabethan colonization attempts in the New World (1584–1590)[edit]

text: In 1585, Sir Walter Raleigh sent his first colonisation mission to the island of Roanoke (in present-day North Carolina), with over 100 male setters. However, when Sir Francis Drake arrived at the colony in summer 1586, the colonists opted to return to England, due to lack of supply ships, abandoning the colony. Supply ships arrived at the now-abandoned colony later in 1586; 15 soldiers were left behind to hold the island, however no trace of these men was later found.[11]

text: In 1587, Raleigh sent another group to again attempt to establish a permanent settlement. The expedition leader, John White, returned to England for supplies that same year but was unable to return to the colony due to war between England and Spain. When he finally did return in 1590, he found the colony abandoned. The houses were intact, but the colonists had completely disappeared. Although there are a number of theories about the fate of the colony, it remains a mystery and has come to be known as the "Lost Colony". Two English children were born in this colony; the first was named Virginia Dare – Dare County, North Carolina, was named in honor of the baby, who was among those whose fate is unknown. The word Croatoan was found carved into a tree, the name of a tribe on a nearby island.[11]

text: Virginia Company (1606–1624)[edit]

text: Following the failure of an earlier colonisation attempt, in the early 1600s,[clarification needed] England resumed attempts to set up a number of colonies. This time jointstock companies were used rather than giving extensive grants to a landed proprietor such as Gilbert or Raleigh.[3].

text: Charter of 1606 – creation of London and Plymouth companies[edit]

text: James granted a proprietary charter to two competing branches of the Virginia Company, which were supported by investors. These were the Plymouth Company and the London Company.[12] By the terms of the charter, the Plymouth Company was permitted to establish a colony of 100 miles (160 km) square between the 38th parallel and the 45th parallel (roughly between Chesapeake Bay and the current U.S.–Canada border). The London Company was permitted to establish between the 34th parallel and the 41st parallel (approximately between Cape Fear and Long Island Sound), and also owned a large portion of Atlantic and Inland Canada. In the area of overlap, the two companies were not permitted to establish colonies within one hundred miles of each other.[12] During 1606, each company organized expeditions to establish settlements within the area of their rights.

text: The London company formed Jamestown in its exclusive territory, whilst the Plymouth colony formed the Popham Colony in its exclusive territory near what is now Phippsburg, Maine.[13]

text: Jamestown and the London company[edit]

text: The London Company hired Captain Christopher Newport to lead its expedition. On December 20, 1606, he set sail from England with his flagship, the Susan Constant, and two smaller ships, the Godspeed, and the Discovery, with 105 men and boys, plus 39 sailors.[14] After an unusually long voyage of 144 days, they arrived at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and came ashore at the point where the southern side of the bay meets the Atlantic Ocean, an event that has come to be called the "First Landing". They erected a cross and named the point of land Cape Henry, in honor of Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, the eldest son of King James.[citation needed]

text: Their instructions were to select a location inland along a waterway where they would be less vulnerable to the Spanish or other Europeans also seeking to establish colonies. They sailed westward into the Bay and reached the mouth of Hampton Roads, stopping at a location now known as Old Point Comfort. Keeping the shoreline to their right, they then ventured up the largest river, which they named the James, for their king. After exploring at least as far upriver as the confluence of the Appomattox River at present-day Hopewell, they returned downstream to Jamestown Island, which offered a favorable defensive position against enemy ships and deep water anchorage adjacent to the land. Within two weeks they had constructed their first fort and named their settlement Jamestown.[citation needed]

text: In addition to securing gold and other precious minerals to send back to the waiting investors in England, the survival plan for the Jamestown colonists depended upon regular supplies from England and trade with the Native Americans. The location they selected was largely cut off from the mainland and offered little game for hunting, no fresh drinking water, and very limited ground for farming. Captain Newport returned to England twice, delivering the First Supply and the Second Supply missions during 1608, and leaving the Discovery for the use of the colonists. However, death from disease and conflicts with the Natives Americans took a fearsome toll of the colonists. Despite attempts at mining minerals, growing silk, and exporting the native Virginia tobacco, no profitable exports had been identified, and it was unclear whether the settlement would survive financially.[citation needed]

text: Powhatan Confederacy[edit]

text: The Powhatan Confederacy was a confederation of numerous linguistically related tribes in the eastern part of Virginia. The Powhatan Confederacy controlled a territory known as Tsenacommacah, which roughly corresponded with the Tidewater region of Virginia. It was in this territory that the English established Jamestown. At the time of the English arrival, the Powhatan were led by the paramount chief Wahunsenacawh.

text: The Popham colony and the Plymouth company[edit]

text: On May 31, 1607, about 100 men and boys left England for what is now Maine. Approximately three months later, the group landed on a wooded peninsula where the Kennebec River meets the Atlantic Ocean and began building Fort St. George. By the end of the year, due to limited resources, half of the colonists returned to England. Late the next year, the remaining 45 sailed home, and the Plymouth company fell dormant.[15]

text: Charter of 1609 - the London company expands[edit]

text: In 1609, with the abandonment of the Plymouth Company settlement, the London Company's Virginia charter was adjusted to include the territory north of the 34th parallel and south of the 39th parallel, with its original coastal grant extended "from sea to sea". Thus, at least according to James I's writ, the Virginia Colony in its original sense extended to the coast of the Pacific Ocean, in what is now California, with all the states in between (Kentucky, Missouri, Colorado, Utah, etc.) belonging to Virginia. For practical purposes, though, the colonists rarely ventured far inland to what was known as "The Virginia Wilderness", although the concept itself helped renew the interest of investors, and additional funds enabled an expanded effort, known as the Third Supply.[citation needed]

text: The 1609 Third Supply and Bermuda[edit]

text: For the Third Supply, the London Company had a new ship built. The Sea Venture was specifically designed for emigration of additional colonists and transporting supplies. It became the flagship of the Admiral of the convoy, Sir George Somers. The Third Supply was the largest to date, with eight other ships joining the Sea Venture. The new Captain of the Sea Venture was the mission's Vice-Admiral, Christopher Newport. Hundreds of new colonists were aboard the ships. However, weather was to drastically affect the mission.[citation needed]

text: A few days out of London, the nine ships of the third supply mission encountered a massive hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean. They became separated during the three days the storm lasted. Admiral Somers had the new Sea Venture, carrying most of the supplies of the mission, deliberately driven aground onto the reefs of Bermuda to avoid sinking. However, while there was no loss of life, the ship was wrecked beyond repair, stranding its survivors on the uninhabited archipelago, to which they laid claim for England.[16]

text: The survivors at Bermuda eventually built two smaller ships and most of them continued on to Jamestown, leaving a few on Bermuda to secure the claim. The Company's possession of Bermuda was made official in 1612, when the third and final charter extended the boundaries of 'Virginia' far enough out to sea to encompass Bermuda.[17] Bermuda has since been known officially also as The Somers Isles (in commemoration of Admiral Somers). The shareholders of the Virginia Company spun off a second company, the Somers Isles Company, which administered Bermuda from 1615 to 1684.[citation needed]

text: Upon their arrival at Jamestown, the survivors of the Sea Venture discovered that the 10-month delay had greatly aggravated other adverse conditions. Seven of the other ships had arrived carrying more colonists, but little in the way of food and supplies. Combined with a drought, and hostile relations with the Native Americans, the loss of the supplies that had been aboard the Sea Venture resulted in the Starving Time in late 1609 to May 1610, during which over 80% of the colonists perished. Conditions were so adverse it appears, from skeletal evidence, that the survivors engaged in cannibalism.[18] The survivors from Bermuda had brought few supplies and food with them, and it appeared to all that Jamestown must be abandoned and it would be necessary to return to England.[citation needed]

text: Abandonment and Fourth supply[edit]

text:
Statistics regarding mortality rates:

Dates
Population
New arrivals

Easter, 1619
~1,000

Easter, 1620
866

1620–1621

+1,051

Easter 1621
843

1620–1624

+ ~4,000

Feb. 1624
1,277

During this time, perhaps 5000 Virginians died of disease or were killed in the Indian massacre of 1622.[19]

text: Samuel Argall was the captain of one of the seven ships of the Third Supply that had arrived at Jamestown in 1609 after becoming separated from the Sea Venture, whose fate was unknown. Depositing his passengers and limited supplies, he returned to England with word of the plight of the colonists at Jamestown. The King authorized another leader, Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, later better known as "Lord Delaware", to have greater powers, and the London Company organized another supply mission. They set sail from London on April 1, 1610.

text: Just after the survivors of the Starving Time and those who had joined them from Bermuda had abandoned Jamestown, the ships of the new supply mission sailed up the James River with food, supplies, a doctor, and more colonists. Lord Delaware was determined that the colony was to survive, and he intercepted the departing ships about 10 miles (16 km) downstream of Jamestown. The colonists thanked Providence for the Colony's salvation.

text: West proved far harsher and more belligerent toward the Indians than any of his predecessors, engaging in wars of conquest against them. He first sent Gates to drive off the Kecoughtan from their village on July 9 1610, then gave Chief Powhatan an ultimatum to either return all English subjects and property, or face war. Powhatan responded by insisting that the English either stay in their fort or leave Virginia. Enraged, De la Warr had the hand of a Paspahegh captive cut off and sent him to the paramount chief with another ultimatum: Return all English subjects and property, or the neighboring villages would be burned. This time, Powhatan did not even respond.

text: First Anglo-Powhatan War (1610-1614), John Rolfe and Pocahontas[edit]

text: On August 9, 1610, tired of waiting for a response from Powhatan, West sent George Percy with 70 men to attack the Paspahegh capital, burning the houses and cutting down their cornfields. They killed 65 to 75, and captured one of Wowinchopunk's wives and her children. Returning downstream, the English threw the children overboard and shot out "their Braynes in the water". The queen was put to the sword in Jamestown. The Paspahegh never recovered from this attack and abandoned their town. Another small force sent with Samuel Argall against the Warraskoyaks found that they had already fled, but he destroyed their abandoned village and cornfields as well. This event triggered the first Anglo-Powhatan War.

text: Among the individuals who had briefly abandoned Jamestown was John Rolfe, a Sea Venture survivor who had lost his wife and son in Bermuda. He was a businessman from London who had some untried seeds for new, sweeter strains of tobacco with him, as well as some untried marketing ideas. It would turn out that John Rolfe held the key to the Colony's economic success. By 1612, Rolfe's new strains of tobacco had been successfully cultivated and exported, establishing a first cash crop for export. Plantations and new outposts sprung up, initially both upriver and downriver along the navigable portion of the James, and thereafter along the other rivers and waterways of the area. The settlement at Jamestown could finally be considered permanently established.[20]

text: A period of peace followed the marriage in 1614 of colonist John Rolfe to Pocahontas, the daughter of Algonquian chief Powhatan.

text: Second Anglo-Powhatan War (1622-1632)[edit]

text: Indian Massacre of 1622[edit]

text: The relations with the Natives took a turn for the worse after the death of Pocahontas in England and the return of John Rolfe and other colonial leaders in May 1617. Disease, poor harvests and the growing demand for tobacco lands caused hostilities to escalate.

text: After Wahunsenacawh's death in 1618, he was soon succeeded by his own younger brother, Opechancanough. He maintained friendly relations with the Colony on the surface, negotiating with them through his warrior Nemattanew, but by 1622, after Nemattanew had been slain, Opechancanough was ready to order a limited surprise attack on them, hoping to persuade them to move on and settle elsewhere.

text: Chief Opechancanough organized and led a well-coordinated series of surprise attacks on multiple English settlements along both sides of a 50-mile (80 km) long stretch of the James River, which took place early on the morning of March 22, 1622. This event came to be known as the Indian Massacre of 1622 and resulted in the deaths of 347 colonists (including men, women, and children) and the abduction of many others. The Massacre caught most of the Virginia Colony by surprise and virtually wiped out several entire communities, including Henricus and Wolstenholme Town at Martin's Hundred.

text: Jamestown was spared from destruction, however, due to a Virginia Indian boy named Chanco who, after learning of the planned attacks from his brother, gave warning to colonist Richard Pace with whom he lived. Pace, after securing himself and his neighbors on the south side of the James River, took a canoe across river to warn Jamestown, which narrowly escaped destruction, although there was no time to warn the other settlements.

text: A year later, Captain William Tucker and Dr. John Potts worked out a truce with the Powhatan and proposed a toast using liquor laced with poison. 200 Virginia Indians were killed or made ill by the poison and 50 more were slaughtered by the colonists. For over a decade, the English settlers killed Powhatan men and women, captured children and systematically razed villages, seizing or destroying crops.

text: By 1634, a six-mile-long palisade was completed across the Virginia Peninsula. The new palisade provided some security from attacks by the Virginia Indians for colonists farming and fishing lower on the Peninsula from that point.

text: On April 18, 1644, Opechancanough again tried to force the colonists to abandon the region with another series of coordinated attacks, killing almost 500 colonists. However, this was a much less devastating portion of the growing population than had been the case in the 1622 attacks.

text: The forces of Royal Governor of Virginia William Berkeley captured the old warrior in 1646,[21] variously thought to be between 90 and 100 years old. In October, while a prisoner, Opechancanough was killed by a soldier (shot in the back) assigned to guard him.

text: Crown colony (1624-1652)[edit]

text: In 1620, a successor to the Plymouth Company sent colonists to the New World aboard the Mayflower. Known as Pilgrims, they successfully established a settlement in what became Massachusetts. The portion of what had been Virginia north of the 40th parallel became known as New England, according to books written by Captain John Smith, who had made a voyage there.

text: In 1624, the charter of the Virginia Company was revoked by King James I and the Virginia Colony was transferred to royal authority in the form of a crown colony. Subsequent charters for the Maryland Colony in 1632 and to the eight Lords Proprietor of the Province of Carolina in 1663 and 1665 further reduced the Virginia Colony to roughly the coastal borders it held until the American Revolution. (The exact border with North Carolina was disputed until surveyed by William Byrd II in 1728.)

text: Third Anglo-Powhatan War (1644-1646)[edit]

text: After twelve years of peace following the Indian Wars of 1622-1632, another Anglo–Powhatan War began on March 18, 1644, as a last effort by the remnants of the Powhatan Confederacy, still under Opechancanough, to dislodge the English settlers of the Virginia Colony.[22] Around 500 colonists were killed, but that number represented a relatively low percent of the overall population, as opposed to the earlier massacre (the 1622 attack had wiped out a third; that of 1644 barely a tenth). However, Opechancanough, still preferring to use Powhatan tactics, did not make any major follow-up to this attack.

text: This was followed by a last effort by the settlers to decimate the Powhatan. In July, they marched against the Pamunkey, Chickahominy, and Powhatan proper; and south of the James, against the Appomattoc, Weyanoke, Warraskoyak, and Nansemond, as well as two Carolina tribes, the Chowanoke and Secotan.

text: In February 1645, the colony ordered the construction of three frontier forts: Fort Charles at the falls of the James, Fort James on the Chickahominy, and Fort Royal at the falls of the York. In August, Governor William Berkeley stormed Opechancanough's stronghold and captured him. All captured males in the village over age 11 were deported to Tangier Island.[23] Opechancanough, around 92 years old, was taken to Jamestown where he was shot in the back by a guard.[22] Opechancanough's death resulted in the disintegration of the Powhatan Confederacy into its component tribes, whom the colonists continued to attack. In March 1646, the colony decided to build a fourth frontier fort, Fort Henry, at the falls of the Appomattox, where the modern city of Petersburg is located.

text: Treaty of 1646[edit]

text: In the peace treaty of October 1646, the new weroance, Necotowance, and the subtribes formerly in the Confederacy, each became tributaries to the King of England. At the same time, a racial frontier was delineated between Indian and English settlements, with members of each group forbidden to cross to the other side except by special pass obtained at one of the newly erected border forts. The extent of the Virginia colony open to patent by English colonists was defined as: All the land between the Blackwater and York rivers, and up to the navigable point of each of the major rivers - which were connected by a straight line running directly from modern Franklin on the Blackwater, northwesterly to the Appomattoc village beside Fort Henry, and continuing in the same direction to the Monocan village above the falls of the James, where Fort Charles was built, then turning sharp right, to Fort Royal on the York (Pamunkey) river. Necotowance thus ceded the English vast tracts of still-uncolonized land, much of it between the James and Blackwater. English settlements on the peninsula north of the York and below the Poropotank were also allowed, as they had already been there since 1640.

text: English Civil War and Commonwealth (1642-1660)[edit]

text: Although the newer, Puritan colonies, most notably Massachusetts, were dominated by Parliamentarians, the older colonies sided with the Crown. The Virginia Company's two settlements, Virginia and Bermuda (Bermuda's Independent Puritans were expelled as the Eleutheran Adventurers, settling the Bahamas under William Sayle), Antigua and Barbados were conspicuous in their loyalty to the Crown, and were singled out by the Rump Parliament in An Act for prohibiting Trade with the Barbadoes, Virginia, Bermuda and Antego in October, 1650. This dictated that

text: due punishment [be] inflicted upon the said Delinquents, do Declare all and every the said persons in Barbada's, Antego, Bermuda's and Virginia, that have contrived, abetted, aided or assisted those horrid Rebellions, or have since willingly joyned with them, to be notorious Robbers and Traitors, and such as by the Law of Nations are not to be permitted any maner of Commerce or Traffique with any people whatsoever; and do forbid to all maner of persons, Foreiners, and others, all maner of Commerce, Traffique and Correspondency whatsoever, to be used or held with the said Rebels in the Barbada's, Bermuda's, Virginia and Antego, or either of them.

text: The Act also authorised Parliamentary privateers to act against English vessels trading with the rebellious colonies: "All Ships that Trade with the Rebels may be surprized. Goods and tackle of such ships not to be embezeled, till judgement in the Admiralty; Two or three of the Officers of every ship to be examined upon oath."

text: Virginia's population swelled with Cavaliers during and after the English Civil War. Despite the resistance of the Virginia Cavaliers, Virginian Puritan Richard Bennett was made Governor answering to Cromwell in 1652, followed by two more nominal "Commonwealth Governors". Nonetheless, the colony was rewarded for its loyalty to the Crown by Charles the II following the Restoration when he dubbed it the Old Dominion.[citation needed]

text: Crown colony restoration (1660-1775)[edit]

text: With the Restoration in 1660 the Governorship returned to its previous holder, Sir William Berkeley.

text: In 1676, Bacon's Rebellion challenged the political order of the colony. While a military failure, its handling did result in Governor Berkeley being recalled to England.

text: In 1679, the Treaty of Middle Plantation was signed.

text: Williamsburg era[edit]

text: The largest and richest and most influential of the American colonies was Virginia, where conservatives were in full control of the colonial and local governments. At the local level, Church of England parishes handled many local affairs, and they in turn were controlled not by the minister, but rather by a closed circle of rich landowners who comprised the parish vestry. Ronald L. Heinemann emphasizes the ideological conservatism of Virginia, while noting there were also religious dissenters who were gaining strength by the 1760s:

text: In actual practice, colonial Virginia never had a bishop to represent God nor a hereditary aristocracy with titles like 'duke' or 'baron'. However it did have a royal governor appointed by the king, as well as a powerful landed gentry. The status quo was strongly reinforced by what Jefferson called "feudal and unnatural distinctions" that were vital to the maintenance of aristocracy in Virginia. He targeted laws such as entail and primogeniture by which the oldest son inherited all the land. As a result increasingly large plantations, worked by white tenant farmers and by black slaves, gained in size and wealth and political power in the eastern ("Tidewater") tobacco areas. Maryland and South Carolina had similar hierarchical systems, as did New York and Pennsylvania.[25] During the Revolutionary era, all such laws were repealed by the new states.[26] The most fervent Loyalists left for Canada or Britain or other parts of the Empire. They introduced primogeniture in Upper Canada (Ontario) in 1792, and it lasted until 1851. Such laws lasted in England until 1926.[27]

text: American Revolution[edit]

text: Relations with the Indians[edit]

text: As the English expanded out from Jamestown, encroachment of the new arrivals and their ever-growing numbers on what had been Indian lands resulted in several conflicts with the Virginia Indians. For much of the 17th century, English contact and conflict was mostly with the Algonquian peoples that populated the coastal regions, primarily the Powhatan Confederacy. Following a series of wars and the decline of the Powhatan as a political entity, the colonists expanded westward in the late 17th and 18th centuries, encountering the Shawnee, Iroquoian-speaking peoples such as the Nottoway, Meherrin, Iroquois and Cherokee, as well as Siouan-speaking peoples such as the Tutelo, Saponi, and Occaneechi.

text: Iroquois Confederacy[edit]

text: As the English settlements expanded beyond the Tidewater territory traditionally occupied by the Powhatan, they encountered new groups with which there had been minimal relations with the Colony.

text: In the late 17th century, the Iroquois Confederacy expanded into the Western region of Virginia as part of the Beaver Wars. They arrived shortly before the English settlers, and displaced the resident Siouan tribes.

text: Lt. Gov. Alexander Spotswood made further advances in policy with the Virginia Indians along the frontier. In 1714, he established Fort Christanna to help educate and trade with several tribes with which the colony had friendly relations, as well as to help protect them from hostile tribes. In 1722, he negotiated the Treaty of Albany.

text: Lord Dunmore's War[edit]

text: Geography[edit]

text: The cultural geography of colonial Virginia gradually evolved, with a variety of settlement and jurisdiction models experimented with. By the late 17th century and into the 18th century, the primary settlement pattern was based on plantations (to grow tobacco), farms, and some towns (mostly ports or courthouse villages).

text: Early settlements[edit]

text: The fort at Jamestown, founded in 1607, remained the primary settlement of the colonists for several years. A few strategic outposts were constructed, including Fort Algernon (1609) at the entrance to the James River.

text: Early attempts to occupy strategic locations already inhabited by natives at what is now Richmond and Suffolk failed owing to native resistance.

text: A short distance farther up the James, in 1611, Thomas Dale began the construction of a progressive development at Henricus on and about what was later known as Farrars Island. Henricus was envisioned as possible replacement capital for Jamestown, and was to have the first college in Virginia. (The ill-fated Henricus was destroyed during the Indian Massacre of 1622). In addition to creating the new settlement at Henricus, Dale also established the port town of Bermuda Hundred, as well as "Bermuda Cittie" (sic) in 1613, now part of Hopewell, Virginia. He began the excavation work at Dutch Gap, using methods he had learned while serving in Holland.

text: The "Hundreds"[edit]

text: Once tobacco had been established as an export cash crop, investors became more interested and groups of them united to create largely self-sufficient "hundreds." The term "hundred" is a traditional English name for an administrative division of a shire (or county) to define an area which would support one hundred heads of household.[28] In the colonial era in Virginia, the "hundreds" were large developments of many acres, necessary to support land hungry tobacco crops. The "hundreds" were required to be at least several miles from any existing community. Soon, these patented tracts of land sprung up along the rivers. The investors sent shiploads of settlers and supplies to Virginia to establish the new developments. The administrative centers of Virginia's hundreds were essentially small towns or villages, and were often palisaded for defense.

text: An example was Martin's Hundred, located downstream from Jamestown on the north bank of the James River. It was sponsored by the Martin's Hundred Society, a group of investors in London. It was settled in 1618, and Wolstenholme Towne was its administrative center, named for Sir John Wolstenholme, one of the investors.

text: Bermuda Hundred (now in Chesterfield County) and Flowerdew Hundred (now in Prince George County) are other names which have survived over centuries. Others included Berkeley Hundred, Bermuda Nether Hundred, Bermuda Upper Hundred, Smith's Hundred, Digges Hundred, West Hundred and Shirley Hundred (and, in Bermuda, Harrington Hundreds).

text: Including the creation of the "hundreds", the various incentives to investors in the Virginia Colony finally paid off by 1617. By this time, the colonists were exporting 50,000 pounds of tobacco to England a year and were beginning to generate enough profit to ensure the economic survival of the colony.

text: Citties, Shires, and Counties[edit]

text: In 1619, the plantations and developments were divided into four "incorporations" or "citties" (sic), as they were called. These were Charles Cittie, Elizabeth Cittie, Henrico Cittie, and James Cittie, which included the relatively small seat of government for the colony at Jamestown Island. Each of the four "citties" (sic) extended across the James River, the main conduit of transportation of the era. Elizabeth Cittie, know initially as Kecoughtan (a Native word with many variations in spelling by the English), also included the areas now known as South Hampton Roads and the Eastern Shore.

text: In 1634, a new system of local government was created in the Virginia Colony by order of the King of England. Eight shires were designated, each with its own local officers. Within a few years, the shires were renamed counties, a system which has remained to the present day.

text: Later settlements[edit]

text: In 1630, under the governorship of John Harvey, the first settlement on the York River was founded. In 1632, the Virginia legislature voted to build a fort to link Jamestown and the York River settlement of Chiskiack and protect the colony from Indian attacks. In 1634, a palisade was built near Middle Plantation. This wall stretched across the peninsula between the York and James rivers and protected the settlements on the eastern side of the lower Peninsula from Indians. The wall also served to contain cattle.

text: In 1699, a new capital was established and built at Middle Plantation, soon renamed Williamsburg.

text: Northern Neck Proprietary[edit]

text: In the period following the English Civil War, the exiled King Charles II of England hoped to shore up the loyalty of several of his supporters by granting them a significant area of mostly uncharted land to control as a Proprietary in Virginia (a claim that would only be valid were the king to return to power). While under the jurisdiction of the Virginia Colony, the proprietary maintained complete control of the granting of land within that territory (and revenues obtained from it) until after the American Revolution. The grant was for the land between the Rappahannock and Potomac Rivers, which included the titular Northern Neck, but as time went on also would include all of what is today Northern Virginia and into West Virginia. Due to ambiguities of the text of the various grants causing disputes between the proprietary and the colonial government, the tract was finally demarcated via the Fairfax Line in 1746.

text: Government and law[edit]

text: In the initial years under the Virginia Company, the colony was governed by a council, headed by a council President. From 1611 to 1618, under the orders of Sir Thomas Dale, the settlers of the colony were under a regime of martial law that became known as Dale's Code.[29]

text: Under a charter from the company in 1618, a new model of governance was put in place in 1619, which created a new House of Burgesses.[29] On July 30, 1619, burgesses met at Jamestown Church as the first elected representative legislative assembly in the New World.[29] The legal system in the colony was thereafter based around the English common law.

text: For much of the history of the Royal Colony, the formal appointed governor was absentee, often remaining in England. In his stead, a series of acting or Lieutenant Governors who were physically present held actual authority. In the later years of its history, as it became increasingly "civilized," more governors made the journey.

text: The first settlement in the colony, Jamestown, served as the capital and main port of entry from its founding until 1699. During this time, a series of statehouses (capitols) were used and subsequently consumed by fires (both accidental, and in the case of Bacon's Rebellion, intentional). Following such a fire, in 1699 the capital was relocated inland, away from the swampy clime of Jamestown to Middle Plantation, soon to be renamed Williamsburg.

text: The capital of Virginia remained in Williamsburg, until it was moved further inland to Richmond in 1779 during the American Revolution.

text: Economy[edit]

text: The entrepreneurs of the Virginia Company experimented with a number of means of making the colony profitable. The orders sent with the first colonists instructed that they search for precious metals (specifically gold). While no gold was found, various products were sent back, including pitch and clapboard. In 1608, early attempts were made at breaking the Continental hold on glassmaking through the creation of a glassworks. In 1619, the colonist built the first ironworks in North America.

text: In 1612, settler John Rolfe planted tobacco obtained from Bermuda (during his stay there as part of the Third Supply). Within a few years, the crop proved extremely lucrative in the European market. As the English increasingly used tobacco products, tobacco in the American colonies became significant economic force, especially in the tidewater region surrounding the Chesapeake Bay.

text: Vast plantations were built along the rivers of Virginia, and social/economic systems developed to grow and distribute this cash crop. Some elements of this system included the importation and employment of slaves to grow crops. Planters would then fill large hogsheads with tobacco and convey them to inspection warehouses. In 1730, the Virginia House of Burgesses standardized and improved quality of tobacco exported by establishing the Tobacco Inspection Act of 1730, which required inspectors to grade tobacco at 40 specified locations.

text: Culture[edit]

text: Ethnic origins[edit]

text: England supplied the great majority of colonists. In 1608, the first Poles and Slovaks arrived as part of a group of skilled craftsmen.[30][31][32][33] In 1619, the first Africans arrived, though the concept of racially based slavery did not evolve for several decades. In the mid-17th century, French Huguenots arrived in the colony.[34] In the early 18th century, German specialists arrived to establish the Germanna settlement.[35] Scots and Scots-Irish settled on the Virginia frontier.[36] Some Welsh arrived including the ancestors of Thomas Jefferson.[37]

text: Servitude and slavery[edit]

text: With the boom in tobacco planting, there was a severe shortage of laborers to work the labor-intensive crop. One method to solve the shortage was through the usage of indentured servants.

text: By the 1640s, legal documents started to define the changing nature of indentured servants and their status as servants. In 1640, John Punch was sentenced to lifetime servitude as punishment for trying to escape from his master Hugh Gwyn. This is the earliest legal sanctioning of slavery in Virginia.[38] After this trial, the relationship between indentured servants and their masters changed, as planters saw permanent servitude a more appealing and profitable prospect than seven-year indentures.

text: As many indentured workers were illiterate, especially Africans, there were opportunities for abuse by planters and other indenture holders. Some ignored the expiration of servants' indentured contracts and tried to keep them as lifelong workers. One example is with Anthony Johnson, who argued with Robert Parker, another planter, over the status of John Casor, formerly an indentured servant of his. Johnson argued that his indenture was for life and Parker had interfered with his rights. The court ruled in favor of Johnson and ordered that Casor be returned to him, where he served the rest of his life as a slave.[39] Such documented cases marked the transformation of Negroes from indentured servants into slaves.

text: In the late 17th century, the Royal African Company, which was established by the King of England to supply the great demand for labor to the colonies, had a monopoly on the provision of African slaves to the colony.[40] As plantation agriculture was established earlier in Barbados, in the early years, slaves were shipped from Barbados (where they were seasoned) to the colonies of Virginia and Carolina.

text: Religion[edit]

text: In 1619, the Anglican Church was formally established as the official religion in the colony, and would remain so until shortly after the American Revolution. Establishment meant that local tax funds paid the parish costs, and that the parish had local civic functions such as poor relief. The upper class planters controlled the vestry, which ran the parish and chose the minister. The church in Virginia was controlled by the Bishop of London, who sent priests and missionaries, but there were never enough, and they reported very low standards of personal morality.[41] By the 1760s, dissenting Protestants, especially Baptists and Methodists, were growing rapidly and started challenging the Anglicans for moral leadership.[42][43][44]

text: Education and literacy[edit]

text: The first printing press used in Virginia began operation in Jamestown on June 8, 1680, though within a few years it was shut down by the Governor and Crown of England for want of a license.[45] It was not until 1736 that the first newspaper, the Virginia Gazette, began circulation under printer William Parks of Williamsburg.[45]

text: The Syms-Eaton Academy, started in 1634, became the first free public school in America. Private tutors were often favored among those families who could afford them.[46]

text: For most of the 17th century, a university education for settlers of Virginia required a journey to England or Scotland.[46] Such journeys were undertaken by wealthy young men. In the early years, many settlers received their education prior to immigrating to the colony.[46]

text: In 1693, the College of William and Mary was founded at Middle Plantation (soon renamed Williamsburg). The college included a common school for Virginia Indians, supplemented by local pupils, which lasted until a 1779 overhaul of the institution's curriculum.[46] The college, located in the capital and heart of the Tidewater region, dominated the colony's intellectual climate until after independence.[46][47]

text: After 1747, some Virginians began to attend institutions at Princeton and Philadelphia. Generations began to move west into the Piedmont and Blue Ridge areas.[46] It is in this region of Virginia that two future Presbyterian colleges trace their origins to lower level institutions founded in this time period. First, what would become Hampden–Sydney College was founded in 1775, immediately prior to the American Revolution. Likewise, Augusta Academy was a classical school that would evolve into Washington and Lee University (though would not grant its first bachelor's degree until 1785).


document_title: Legal drinking age

question_text: what is the age limit to buy alcohol

question_tokens: what is the age limit to buy alcohol

root

text: Legal drinking age

text: Africa[edit]

text: The most common minimum age to purchase alcohol in Africa is 18. Although it varies from the lowest age limit in Ethiopia being only 15 years, Zimbabwe with a minimum purchase age of 16 years, Gambia with a age limit of 17 years and Uganda where the minimum legal purchase age is 18 but minors aged 16 or 17 may consume a glass of beer, wine or cider with a meal at a restaurant. Cameroon and Egypt are the only countries in Africa with a minimum purchase age of 21 years. However Algeria, Angola (except Luando Province), Central African Republic, Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Morocco, Togo, Tunisia and the Western Sahara have no laws on the book restricting the sale of alcohol to minors. In Libya, Somalia and Sudan the sale, production and consumption of alcohol is completely prohibited.

tag: p

text:
Country
State/Region/Province
De jure
Notes

Drinking age
Purchase age

 Algeria
None[3]

 Angola

None[3]
There is no national legislation prohibiting the sale of alcohol to minors.

Luanda Province:
18[4]
Legislation in Luanda Province:
It is illegal to sell alcoholic beverages to anyone under the age of 18. It is also illegal for minors to buy and consume alcohol.[4]

 Botswana
None[5]
18[5]
It is illegal for any person with a liquor license to sell or supply alcoholic beverages to minors under the age of 18 years. Because the law only applies to licensees it is not illegal for minors to buy, consume or possess alcoholic beverages.

 Burundi
None[6]
18 (None if accompanied by parent or legal guardian)[6]
It is illegal for any person with a liquor license to sell or supply alcoholic beverages to unaccompanied minors under the age of 18 years.

 Cameroon
21/18 (if accompanied by a person 21 years of age or older)[7]
It is illegal for any person with a liquor license, to sell or supply alcoholic beverages to anyone under 18 years of age. The law permits adults from the ages 18 to 21 to consume, purchase and buy alcoholic beverages if accompanied by a person 21 years of age or older. Anyone over the age of 21 years may buy or consume alcohol unaccompanied.

 Cape Verde
None[8]
18[8]
It is illegal for any person to sell or supply alcoholic beverages to minors under the age of 18 years.

 Central African Republic
None[3]

 Comoros
None[3]

 Egypt
21[3]

 Equatorial Guinea
None[3]

 Eritrea
None[9]
18[9]
It is illegal for any person to sell or serve alcoholic beverages to minors under the age of 18 years.

 Ethiopia
None[10]
15[10]
It is illegal for any person to sell, offer, serve or allow to serve alcoholic beverages "in substantial quantities" to any infant or young person. The criminal code defines a young person as any person under the age of 15 years. But the Criminal Code states: "Whoever endangers the health of another, intentionally and unscrupulously, by administering or serving, or by causing or permitting to be administered or served, to minors (defined as anyone under the age of 18 years) (...) alcoholic beverages or spirituous liquors of such kind or in such quantity as to make their injurious effect certain or probable, is punishable with simple imprisonment not exceeding one year, and fine."

 Gabon
None[3]

 Gambia
None[11][3]
17[11][3]
It is illegal to sell, serve or supply alcoholic beverages to child or young person. A "young person" is defined as anyone under the age of 17 by the Children and Young Persons Act, 1949 Section 2.

 Ghana
18[12]

 Guinea-Bissau
None[3]

 Kenya
None[13]
18[13]
It is illegal to sell, serve or supply alcoholic beverages to anyone under the age of 18 years.

 Lesotho
18[14]
It is illegal to sell, serve or supply any alcoholic beverage to a minor under the age of 18 years. It is also illegal for minors to consume, buy or attempt to buy alcohol.

 Liberia
None
18[3]
It is illegal to sell, serve or supply alcoholic beverages to anyone under the age of 18 years.

 Libya
Illegal[15]
Previously Article 498 of the Libyan Penal Code prohibted the sale of alcoholic beverages to juveniles under the age of 16 years.[3]

 Malawi
None
18[16]
It is illegal to sell, serve or supply alcoholic beverages to anyone under the age of 18 years.

 Mauritius
None
18[17]
It is illegal to sell, serve or supply alcoholic beverages to anyone under the age of 18 years.

 Morocco
None[3]

 Mozambique
18[18]

 Namibia
None
18[19]
It is illegal to sell, serve or supply alcoholic beverages to anyone under the age of 18 years.

 Niger
18[3]

 Nigeria
18[3]

 Republic of the Congo
None
18[20]

 Rwanda
18[3]

 Senegal
18[21]

 Seychelles
18[3]

 Somalia
Illegal[22]

 South Africa
18
The parent, adult guardian of a minor or a person responsible for administering a religious sacrament, may on occasion supply to that minor a moderate quantity of liquor to be consumed by the minor in the presence and under the supervision of that parent, guardian or other person.[23]

 South Sudan
18[3]

 Sudan
Illegal[24]

 Swaziland
18[3]

 Tanzania
None
18[25]

 Togo
None[3]

 Tunisia
None[3]

 Uganda
None[26]
18
16 (wine, beer, porter, cider, perry or native liquor with meal)[26]
It is illegal for any licensee to sell, serve or supply alcoholic beverages to anyone under the age of 18 years. The law provides a exception for anyone who is 16 or 17 years of age, and consumes a fermented alcoholic drink with a meal, in a part of a licensed premises that serves meals and is not a bar.

 Western Sahara
None[3]

 Zambia
18[27]
It is illegal for any person with a liquor license, to sell, serve or supply alcoholic beverages to anyone under 18 years of age. Before the Liquor Licensing Act was enacted in 2011, the minimum age to sell, serve and supply alcoholic beverages was 14 years.[28]

 Zimbabwe
None[29]
16 [29]
It is illegal for any person to sell, lend, give, supply, deliver or offer alcoholic beverages to any child under the age of 16 years, except upon production of a written order signed by the parent or guardian of the child known to such person. The police has the duty to seize any alcoholice beverage in the possession of a child under the age of 16 years without a written consent of the parents or legal guardian.

text: Americas[edit]

text: The minimum age to purchase and consume varies, but the most common age is 18 years. However in North America the age limits varies between 18 and 21 years of age. Throughout the United States the minimum legal age to purchase any alcoholic beverage from a shop, supermarket, liquor store, bar, club or any other licensed premises is 21 years of age. In Canada each province can decide which minimum age limit is to be set to buy or consume alcohol. Most provinces have a minimum age of 19 years, while Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec have set a minimum age of 18 years. In South America all countries have set a minimum purchase age of 18 years, except for Guyana where minors aged 16 or 17 may consume a glass of beer, wine or cider in a restaurant provided they buy a meal, and Paraguay the only country with a minimum legal purchase and drinking age of 20 years.

text:
Country
State/Region/Province
De jure
Notes

Drinking age
Purchase age

 Anguilla
None[30]
18 [30]
It is illegal to sell or serve alcoholic drinks to anyone under the age of 18 years. Violating the regulation is punished with a $9.600 fine.

 Antigua and Barbuda
None
16[31]
The sale and distribution of alcohol to a person under 16 years of age is illegal.

 Argentina
18[32]

 Bahamas
18[33]
It is illegal for any adult to sell, serve or supply any alcoholic beverage to a child (defined as anyone under the age of 18 years). The law provides a exception to treat a illness in urgent cases or upon order by a medical doctor.

 Barbados
None
16[34]
It is illegal to sell or serve any alcoholic beverage to anyone under the age of 16 years. The President of the Barbados Road Safety Association is trying to raise the drinking age to 18 years due to the fact that the law is often violated.[34]

 Belize
18[35]
Drinking age is rarely enforced. IDs are almost never requested.

 Bermuda
18[36]
It is illegal to sell or serve any alcoholic beverage to a child under the age of 18 years.

 Bolivia
None[37]
18 [37]
It is illegal to sell or serve alcoholic beverages to minors under the age of 18 years. Every sold alcoholic beverage has to have a warning message on the bottle or container reading: “VENTA PROHIBIDA A MENORES DE 18 AÑOS DE EDAD” (Sale prohibited to (anyone) under 18 years of age) and “EL CONSUMO EXCESIVO DE ALCOHOL ES DAÑINO PARA LA SALUD” (Excessive alcohol consumption is harmful to (ones) health).

 Brazil
None[38]
18 [38]
It is illegal to sell, serve or supply any alcoholic beverage to a person under 18 years of age. The presidential law enacted on March 17 2015 made any violation of the law a criminal offence. Any adult person selling, serving, giving or supplying alcoholic beverages to a minor is punished with imprisonment of 2 to 4 years, a fine of R$ 3.000 to R$ 10.000 and a ban to operate any business selling or serving alcohol.

 British Virgin Islands
16[35]
It is illegal to sell or to supply alcohol to anyone under the age of 16.

 Canada
 Alberta
 Manitoba
 Quebec
18[39][40][41]
In Alberta no person may give or sell or permit any person to give or sell liquor to a minor in licensed premises.[39] In Manitoba a person must not give, sell or otherwise supply liquor to a minor. the law provides exceptions for a doctor, dentist, pharmacist or other health care professional for medical purposes; for sacramental purposes and by the parent, guardian, spouse or common-law partner, if it is given or supplied in a residence.[40] In Quebec the law probits the sale of alcoholic beverages to a minor under the age of 18 years.[41]

 Ontario
 Saskatchewan
 British Columbia
 Newfoundland and Labrador
 Nova Scotia
 New Brunswick
 Prince Edward Island
 Northwest Territories
 Yukon
 Nunavut
19

 Cayman Islands
18[42]
It is prohibited to sell, serve or supply alcoholic beverages to anyone under the age of 18 years. It is also illegal for any minor to buy, attempt to buy or consume alcoholic beverages. Violation of the lawis punished with a fine of five thousand dollars, and the court may, if the offence was committed by the licensee, order that the licensee shall forfeit his licence and that no licence may be issued to that person for a period not exceeding ten years from the date of his conviction.

 Chile
18[43]
The minimum age is 18 to enter an enclosure that sells alcoholic beverages. Selling alcohol to a minor may incur a fine. One must provide identification upon request. Residents of Chile over the age of 18 must carry their Chilean identification card issued by the Civil Registry and Identification Service at all times.[44]

 Colombia
None
18[45]
The law prohibits the sale of alcohol to a minor (anyone under the age of 18 years). It is not illegal for minors to buy, attempt to buy or consume alcohol.[45]

 Costa Rica
None
18[46]
The law prohibits the sale of alcohol to a minor (anyone under the age of 18 years). Selling alcohol to a minor will be punished with a fine equivalent to ten basic salaries. Whoever permits minors to maintain in any establishment which main purpose is to sell alcoholic beverages, will be sanctioned with a fine equivalent to five salaries. It is not illegal for minors to buy, attempt to buy or consume alcohol.[46]

 Cuba
None
16[47]
The penal code prohibits any adult to induce any young person under the age of 16 years, to habitually consume alcoholic beverages. However this means that defacto anyone selling, serving or supplying alcohol should check if the buyer has attained the age of 16 years. In most cases this law is not strictly enforced.[47][48]

 Dominican Republic
None
18[49]

 Ecuador
None
18[50]
It is illegal to sell alcohol beverages to a minor under the age of 18 years of age. The law obligates establishments to place a visible notice at the point of sale and to check identification to enforce the law. However it is not illegal for minors to buy, attempt to buy or consume alcohol.[50]

 El Salvador
None
18[51]
It is strictly prohibited to sell or serve alcoholic beverages to a minor under the age of 18 years. Violation of the law is punished with ¢ 25,000.00 and if convicted once more the license will be suspended for a period of six months. It is legal for minors to buy, attempt to buy and consume alcohol.[51]

 Falkland Islands
18[52]
It is illegal for any adult to sell, give or provide alcohol to a minor under the age of 18 years in any public place or licensed premises. Parents may permit their children to consume alcohol on private premises. Minors consuming alcohol in public are committing a criminal offence. The law provides exceptions for the consumption of alcohol by minors for prescription of or at the direction of a government medical officer or in the course of the administration of Holy Communion according to the rites of any Christian denomination.[52]

 Grenada
18[53]
It is illegal to sell, serve or supply any alcoholic drink to a minor under 18 years of age. Minors under 18 years are prohibited by law, to consume alcoholic beverages in public.[53]

 Guatemala
18[54]
It is illegal to sell, serve or supply any alcoholic drink to a minor under 18 years of age. Minors under 18 years are prohibited by law, to consume alcoholic beverages in public.[54]

 Guyana
18/16 for beer, wine and cider with meal[55]
It is illegal to sell or serve alcool to a person under 18 years of age. The law provides a exception for minors aged 16 and 17, if they consume a glass of beer, wine oder cider with a meal in a restaurant. Otherwise attempting to buy alcohol or buying alcohol as a minor is a offence.[55]

 Haiti
None
18[56]
It is illegal to sell or serve alcohol to minors from May 17 2017. Vendors are required to check identification.

 Honduras
18[43]

 Jamaica
None
18[57]
It is illegal to sell or serve any alcoholic beverage to a child (which is defined as anyone under the age of 18 years).[57]

 Mexico
18[43]
The minimum age to buy and consume alcoholic beverages is regulated by each state of Mexico. But all states have set a minimum age of 18 years, and in no state it is illegal for minors to buy and consume alcohol.

 Nicaragua
None
14 (restaurant)
18 (bars, clubs, markets, supermarkets, sports and recreation centers)[58]
The law from 1980 prohibits the sale of alcoholic beverages to minors under the age of 18 years. Ever point of sale or establishment serving alcohol, is required to post a notice stating that the sale of alcohol to minors under 18 years of age is illegal. However the law permits children as young as 14 to purchase and consume alcohol in a restaurant without further restrictions.[58]

 Panama
None
18[59]

 Paraguay
20[60]
According to Art. 1° of the law to "ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages to minors", it is illegal to serve or sell alcohol or to allow the consumption by minors under 20 years of age. Furthermore, under Art 2° all public establishments selling alcohol must display a clearly legible notice in the sales area with the following text: "ESTA PROHIBIDA LA VENTA DE BEBIDAS ALCOHÓLICAS A MENORES DE VEINTE AÑOS DE EDAD" (It is illegal (prohibited) to sell alcoholic beverages to minors under 20 years of age)

 Peru
None
18[61]

 Puerto Rico
18

 Trinidad and Tobago
None
18[62]
It is illegal to sell, serve or supply alcoholiv beverages to child under the age of 18 years. It is also illegal for an adult to send a child to buy alcohol on behalf. It is not illegal for children to buy or consume alcohol.[62]

 Turks and Caicos Islands
None
18[63]
It is illegal to serve or sell liquor to a young person under the age of eighteen years. Minors under the age of sixteen years may not present in a licensed premises mainly serving and selling alcoholic beverages.[63]

 United States
(50 states and integral territories)
Varies by jurisdiction[43]
21[43]
The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 withholds revenue from states that allow the purchase of alcohol by anyone under the age of 21. Prior to the effective date of that Act, the drinking age varied from state to state. Some states do not allow those under the legal drinking age to be present in liquor stores or in bars (usually, the difference between a bar and a restaurant is that food is served only in the latter). Contrary to popular belief, since the act went into law, only a few states prohibit minors and young adults from consuming alcohol in private settings. As of January 1, 2010, 15 states and the District of Columbia ban underage consumption outright, 17 states do not ban underage consumption, and the remaining 18 states have family member or location exceptions to their underage consumption laws.
Federal law explicitly provides for religious exceptions. As of 2005, 31 states have family member or location exceptions to their underage possession laws. However, non-alcoholic beer in many (but not all) states, such as Idaho, Texas, and Maryland, is considered legal for those under the age of 21.[64]
By a judge's ruling, South Carolina appears to allow the possession and consumption of alcohol by adults 18 to 20 years of age, but a circuit court judge has said otherwise.[65]
The states of Washington and Wisconsin allows the consumption of alcohol in the presence of parents.
Some U.S. states have legislation that make providing to and possession of alcohol by persons under twenty-one a gross misdemeanor with a potential penalty of a $5,000 fine or up to year in jail.[66]
See also: Minor in Possession and List of alcohol laws of the United States

 United States Virgin Islands
18[67]

 Uruguay
None
18[68]
Only selling alcohol to minors under the age of 18 is prohibited, consumption and purchase by minors is not illegal.

 Venezuela
None
18[69]
Only selling alcohol to minors under the age of 18 is prohibited, consumption and purchase by minors is not illegal.[69]

text: Asia[edit]

text:
Country
State/Region/Province
De jure
Notes

Drinking age
Purchase age

 Afghanistan
Illegal[70]

 Bangladesh
(Illegal for Muslims.)[71]
Alcohol will be sold to foreigners in certain locations, albeit clandestinely.[citation needed]

 Bhutan
18[72]

 Brunei
17 with restrictions, unless Muslim[43]
Non-Muslims over 17 years of age are allowed to import alcohol not to exceed maximum total volume 2 liters of liquor and 12 cans of beer at 330 ml for personal use, once in 48 hours. This alcohol must be “stored and consumed at the place of residence of the importer” and is “not to be given, transferred or sold to another person.”.[43]

 Cambodia
None[73]

 China
18[43]
Introduced in January 2006.[74]

 Hong Kong
18[75]
The regulation is only applicable to restaurants, bars and clubs, where a liquor license is required. Private drinking is also not regulated.[citation needed]

 India
18–25 (varies by jurisdiction)[43]

Main article: Alcohol laws of India
Consumption of alcohol is illegal in the states of Bihar, Gujarat and Nagaland.[76]

 Indonesia
21[77]

 Iran
Illegal [43]
There is a ban on alcohol, but religious minorities may purchase small amounts from shops owned by the same religious minority.[78]

 Iraq
Illegal[79]

 Israel
None
18[43]
Israel law prohibits selling or serving alcohol to minors, but it does not prohibit minors to drink, although the police may confiscate alcoholic drinks consumed by minors in public.[citation needed]

 Japan
20[43]

 Jordan
18[80]

 Kazakhstan
21[81]

 Kuwait
Illegal[82]

 Kyrgyzstan
18[43]

 Lebanon
18[43]
Often unenforced and according to a global school health study, 40% of minors over 13 drink alcohol and up to 25% buy it from stores.[83]

 Macau
None[84]

 Malaysia
21
Increased from 18 to 21 in December 2017.[85]

 Maldives
Illegal except for tourists, 18[citation needed]
Sale of alcohol is limited to tourist resorts. It is illegal to sell alcohol to local Maldivians[86]

 Mongolia
18[87]

 Myanmar
None
18[88]

   Nepal
18
The legal age for consumption of alcohol in Nepal is 18. However, there are exceptions to underage consumption for purposes of religious ceremonies.[citation needed]

 North Korea
18[89]

 Oman
21
Residents need personal liquor licenses to consume alcohol in their private residences.[90][91]

 Pakistan
Illegal (18 for non-Muslims) [43]
Non-Muslim citizens may possess alcohol to be used in accordance with religious ceremonies[43]

 Palestinian Authority
16[citation needed]
Legal in most cities.[citation needed]

 Philippines
18[92]

 Qatar
Illegal[citation needed]
Muslims are allowed to purchase alcohol, but generally not allowed to consume. Non Muslims are allowed to purchase, and consume alcohol. The only legal distributor of alcohol in the country is the Qatar Distribution Company located in Doha.[citation needed]

 Saudi Arabia
Illegal
Drinking or possessing alcohol is illegal in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Persons who drink or possess alcohol are subject to arrest and trial. Punishments range from heavy fines, lengthy prison terms and whippings.[citation needed]

 Singapore
None (Private places, sometimes with permission from parents/guardian)
18 (Public places e.g. bars and restaurants)
18[43]
For convenience stores, those who pretend to be 18 years and above in a "Challenge 18" scheme will be downgraded to "Challenge 21" scheme, and after which the licences will be revoked once they pretend to be 18 years and above if it is on "Challenge 21".[citation needed]. It is illegal to purchase alcohol in Singapore or consume in a nightclub/allow entry to the nightclub under 18. Home and private drinking of alcohol is allowed, although the safest age could be 6. Parents can try a sip of alcohol at any age.[citation needed]

 South Korea
None
19[93]
The age limit for alcohol is after January 1 of the year one's age turns to 19.[94]

 Sri Lanka
21[43]

 Syria
18[citation needed]

 Taiwan
18[95]

It is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to consume alcohol.[96]
Parents, guardians, and others taking care of people under 18 shall prohibit underage drinking,[97] or risk administrative fines of 10000 to 50000 new Taiwan dollars when the situations are serious.[98]
One shall not supply alcohol to anyone under the age of 18.[99] A violator shall be administratively fined 3000 to 15000 New Taiwan Dollars.[100]

 Tajikistan
18[43]

 Thailand
20[101]
The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act of 2008 increased the drinking age in Thailand from 18 to 20, private drinking is not regulated in private locations.[101][102]

 Turkmenistan
18[43]

 United Arab Emirates
18–21 (varies by jurisdiction).[103]
Expatriate non-Muslim residents may request a liquor permit to purchase alcoholic beverages, but it is illegal for such holders to provide drinks to others.[104]
The legal age for drinking alcohol is 18 in Abu Dhabi (although a Ministry of Tourism by-law allows hotels to serve alcohol only to those over 21), and 21 in Dubai and the Northern Emirates (except Sharjah, where drinking alcohol is illegal).[103]
It is a punishable offence to drink, or to be under the influence of alcohol, in public.[103]

 Uzbekistan
None
20[43]

 Vietnam
18[43]

 Yemen
Illegal[citation needed]
Exception is in Aden Region where it's legal for 21 and up[citation needed]

text: Europe[edit]

text: Most countries within Europe have set 18 as the minimum age to purchase alcohol. Although Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Germany, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Serbia and Switzerland (except Ticino) maintain a minimum purchase age below 18 years permitting minors either full or limited access to alcohol. In 2005[105], 2007[106] and recently in 2015[107] the European Union has failed to enact a law forcing member states to raise their purchase age to 18 years. But in the past years several European countries have raised their drinking/purchase age or enacted laws restricting the access to alcohol for minors:

text:
In 2002 the autonomous communities Madrid,[108] Valencia[109] and Catalonia[110] raised their minimum purchase age to 18 years. Previous to 2002 Valencia and Madrid had a minimum purchase age of 16 years, and in Catalonia minors aged 16 or 17 could purchase alcohol up to 23% ABV on and off premises.
In 2004 Denmark[111] raised its off premises purchase age from 15 to 16 years.
In November 2005 Switzerland passed its "Food and Commodities Regulation"[112] (German: Lebensmittel- und Gebrauchsgegenständeverordnung), introducing a ban on alcohol sales to anyone under the age of 16, although the 1980 passed "Alcohol Law"[113] (German: Alkoholgesetz) already required a minimum age of 18 years for the retail sale of distilled spirits. Therefore, it is illegal to sell fermented alcohol (e.g. beer, wine, sparkling wine or cider) to anyone under the age of 16, and any distilled alcoholic beverages to anyone under the age of 18 years. Further the canton of Ticino introduced a contonal law in 1989 banning all alcohol sales to anyone under the age of 18 years.[114]
In 2006 the autonomous communitie Castile and León[115] raised its minimum purchase age from 16 to 18 years.
In late 2006, Gibraltar[116] lawmakers passed the "Children and Young Persons (Alcohol, Tobacco and Gaming) Act 2006", which raised the minimum purchase age from 16 to 18 years. But the new law made an exception: minors aged 16 or 17 can purchase and consume on premises beer, wine or cider under 15% ABV or pre-packed containers of an alcoholic strength not exceeding 5.5% ABV (e.g. alcopops).
In 2009 France[117] raised its minimum purchase age to 18 years, and fines were increased for selling or serving alcohol to a minor (up to 7,500 €). Previous to 2009 the minimum age to purchase any alcohol from off licensed premises was 16 years. In order to purchase alcohol on premises the minimum age was 16 years for low alcoholic beverages such as wine, beer, cider, perry, mead, crème de cassis and juices from fermented fruits or vegetables that contain 1.2 to 3° alcohol, natural sweet wines from controlled cultivation – to purchase or be served stronger alcoholic drinks one had to be 18 years of age.
In October 2009, the government of Malta[118] passed a new law raising its drinking and purchase age from 16 to 17 years.
In 2010 the autonomous community of Galicia raised its minimum purchase age from 16 to 18 years.[119]
In 2011 Denmark[120] passed a new law, raising the minimum age for off-premises sale of alcohol >16.5% ABV to 18 years of age. The age to purchase alcohol <16.5% ABV remaines at 16.
Italy raised its minimum purchase age from 16 to 18 in 2012. Previously Italy did not have a purchase age for off-premises sales, and the minimum age of 16 years for on premises sales was barely enforced. [121]
In 2013 the government of Portugal restricted alcohol sales to young people: distilled spirits can not be sold to anyone under the age of 18, and other alcohol (e.g. beer, wine or cider) can't be sold to anyone under the age of 16. Previously the minimum age for all kinds of alcoholic beverages was 16 years.[122]
As of 1 January 2014, the minimum legal purchase and consumption age was raised from 16 to 18 in the Netherlands. Previously young people over the age of 16 could purchase and consume alcohol <15% ABV, and adults aged 18 and over could purchase alcohol over 15% ABV.[123]
As of March 2015, the autonomous community of Asturias raised its drinking age from 16 to 18 years. Asturias was Spain's last community with a drinking age of 16 years. The new law brings the drinking age into line with the rest of Spain.[124]
As of 1 January 2018, Lithuania raised its minimum drinking age from 18 to 20 years[125]

tag: ul

text:
Country
State/Region/Province
De jure
Notes

Drinking age
Purchase age

 Albania
18[43]

 Andorra
18[126]

 Armenia
None[127]
18[127]
There are no laws mandating alcohol vendors to ID potential underage drinkers. ID checks are very rarely, if ever, carried out[127]

 Austria
 Burgenland
 Lower Austria
 Vienna
16
[128]

 Carinthia
 Upper Austria
 Salzburg
 Styria
 Tyrol
 Vorarlberg
16 (beer, wine and cider)
18 (distilled beverages)
Carinthia also requires adolescents to maintain a blood alcohol level below 0.05%.[128]

 Azerbaijan
None[129]
18[129]
It is illegal to sell or serve alcohol to a minor under 18 years of age.[129]

 Belarus
None[130]
18[130]
The law prohibits the sale of alcohol to anyone under the age of 18 years. However, the law is rarely enforced.[130]

 Belgium
None[131]
16 (beer, wine and cider)
18 (spirits)[131]
Since 10 January 2010, it is illegal to "sell, serve, or offer" any form of distilled alcohol to those under the age of 18 or any alcoholic drink to those under 16. So fermented drinks like beer or wine are permitted above 16.[131] Previously, it was illegal to sell alcoholic drinks to under-16s, but accompanying adults could buy drinks for them.

 Bosnia and Herzegovina
None[132]
18[132]
Selling alcohol to a minor under the age of 18 years is a offence. The law does not prohibit minors from buying, attempting to buy or consuming alcohol.[132]

 Bulgaria
None[133]
18[133]
By law, it is illegal to serve or sell alcohol to any child under the age of 18. There is no restrictions for minors consuming alcohol.[133]

 Croatia
None[134]
18[134]
It is prohibited to sell or serve alcohol to anyone under 18 years of age. There is no minimum age to buy or consume alcohol by law.[134]

 Cyprus
None[135]
17[135]
It is illegal to sell or serve alcohol to anyone under the age of 17 years. There is no minimum age to buy, attempt to buy or consume alcohol in public.[135]

 Czech Republic
None
18[136]
It is illegal to provide alcohol to minors[137] (punishable by fine or up to 1[138] or 2[139] year(s) imprisonment). Consumption itself is not prohibited by law.[140]

 Denmark
None
16 (<16.5% ABV)
18 (≥16.5% ABV)
While there is no age requirement for drinking alcohol in Denmark, there are laws that prevent minors from buying alcohol:

In order to buy alcohol above 1.2% and below 16.5% ABV in stores, one must be 16 years of age.
In order to buy alcohol above 16.5% ABV in stores, one must be 18 years of age.[141]

By tradition, youths are privately allowed to drink alcohol after their confirmation.[142] If a shop or bar fails to ask for an ID card and is identified having sold alcohol to an underage, it is subject to fine. A national ID card, obtained in the local town hall, can serve as age verification.[143] This card is rarely used though since a passport or drivers license is more commonly used.[144]
Both the legal drinking and purchasing age in the Faroe Islands is 18.[citation needed]

 Estonia
18[145]
It is illegal to sell, serve or supply alcoholic beverages to anyone under the age of 18 years. Alcohol found in possession of any child can be confiscated by the police.

 Finland
18 (possession and purchase of 1.2–22% ABV)
20 (for possession and purchase of 23–80% ABV)
18 (for all in bars, clubs and restaurants)[146]
All major grocery chains have implemented a policy to ask for ID if the customer looks under 30.[147] Stores may refuse to sell alcohol if the customer is accompanied by a minor, or if proxy purchasing is suspected. Purchasing alcohol on behalf of a minor is a criminal offence.[146][148]
Police may search minors in public places and confiscate or destroy any alcoholic beverages in their possession. Incidents are reported to the legal guardian and social authorities, who may intervene with child welfare procedures. In addition, those aged 15 or above are subject to a fine.[149]
In private, offering alcohol to a minor is considered a criminal offence if it results in drunkenness and the act can be deemed reprehensible as a whole, considering the minor's age, degree of maturity and other circumstances.[146]

 France
None
18
France has no explicitly stated consumption age,[150] but selling alcohol to a minor (under 18) is illegal[151] and can be fined 7500 euros.[150] This age was raised from 16 to 18 in 2009.[152][153]

 Georgia
None[154]
18[154]
By Georgian law, the sale of alcoholic beverages to anyone under the age of 18 years is prohibited.[154]

 Germany
14(beer, wine and cider if accompanied)
16 (beer, wine and cider)
18 (spirits and aliments containing spirits above negligible amounts)[155]
It is illegal to sell, serve or supply fermented alcoholic beverages (beer, wine, cider and sparkling wine) to anyone under 16 years of age. However this age limit drops down to 14 if a minor is accompanied by his parent or legal guardian. It is generally illegal to serve, sell or supply any beverage containing spirits and aliments containing spirits above negligible amounts, to anyone under the age of 18 years. Violation of the "Protection of Young Persons Act" can be fined up to 50.000€.
See also: Alcohol laws in Germany

 Gibraltar
None[156]
18
16(beer, wine and cider)[156]
It is illegal to sell alcoholic drinks to anyone under the age of 18, other than the following two exceptions. The minimum age to be served in licensed premises is 16 if:[156]

The alcoholic beverage is beer, wine or cider below 15% ABV, or
The alcoholic beverage is served in a bottle, or a pre-packaged container below 5.5% ABV.

 Greece
None[157]
18[157]
In 2008, the consumption of alcoholic beverages was prohibited for minors in public. However, the law does not apply to private events or private premises.[157]

 Hungary
18[43]

 Iceland
None
20[158]
Possession or consumption of alcohol by minors is not an offence, but supplying them with alcohol is.

 Ireland
None (on private residence with permission from parents or guardians)[159]
18[159]
It is illegal for minors to buy alcohol or for a third party to attempt to buy it for minors. It is illegal to purchase alcohol for anybody under the age of consent without permission from their guardians.[160]

 Italy
None [161]
18[162][161]
In 2012 the then Health Minister Renato Balduzzi proposed to raise the age to 18.[161] Selling alcohol to those under the age of 18 in shops carries a fine between €250 and €1000. Serving alcoholic beverages to those under the age of 16 is a criminal offense and is punished with prison up to one year, if the individual is 16 or 17 it will be treated as an offense that is fined between €250 and €1000 (Legge n. 189/2013).

 Kosovo
None[citation needed]

 Latvia
None[163]
18[163]
It is illegal to sell or serve alcoholic beverages to any minor under the age of 18 years. There is no minimum age to consume or possess alcohol.[163]

 Liechtenstein
16 beer, wine and cider
18 spirits and spirit-based beverages[164]
Wine, beer and ciders as well as some other party drinks sometimes without spirits may be purchased by the age of 16. Spirits as well as alcopops may be sold only to people at least 18.[164]

 Lithuania
20[125]
It is illegal to sell, serve or supply alcoholic beverages to anyone under the age of 20 years. Persons under the age of 20 are prohibited from consuming alcoholic beverages or from possessing them. The minimum age was raised from 18 to 20 since 2018.[125]

 Luxembourg
None [165]
16[165]
It is illegal to sell or serve alcoholic beverages >1.2% ABV to any person under the age of 16 years. Violation is fined €251 to €1.000.[165]

 Macedonia
18[166]
Must show an ID card upon request. In certain smaller places, such as family-owned convenience stores and street kiosks, there is little to no enforcement on how old or young somebody purchases alcohol. There is little to no enforcement for drinking privately, but drinking in bars may require an ID.

 Malta
17[167]
Must provide identification upon request.

 Moldova
None[168]
18[168]
It is illegal to sell, or serve alcoholic beverages to anyone under the age of 18 years. It is not illegal for minors to buy, attempt to buy or consume alcohol. The minimum purchase age was raised from 16 to 18 in 2012.[169][168]

 Montenegro
18[citation needed]

 Netherlands
18
The legal age for purchasing and consumption of alcoholic beverages was raised from 16 to 18 since 2014. Alcohol is commonly available upon parental permission. Selling alcoholic beverages to people under 18 is illegal, although giving it away in private is not.[citation needed]

 Norway
None[170]
18 (<22%)
20 (≥22% ABV)[43]
Selling alcohol to or buying alcohol for minors is illegal. Minors are defined as under 18 for beer and wine, under 20 for drinks that contain 22% ABV or more. Minors who buy alcohol are not held criminally responsible; instead, the crime lies with those who sold it or obtained it for them.
Alcohol with more than 60% ABV is generally not sold in Norway, although exceptions may be made by the government for specific products.[171]
Alcohol possessed by minors may be confiscated as evidence. Drinking in public is prohibited, though this is rarely enforced in recreational areas.[172]

 Poland
None[173]
18[173]
Article 15 of The Act on Upbringing in Sobriety and Counteracting Alcoholism[174] clearly states that buyers or persons being served must be at least 18 and prove it with ID if they look like they may not be at least that age. There is no mention of consumption age in this or any other act in Poland. Drinking on streets, town squares, and in parks is illegal regardless of age.

 Portugal
None[175]
18[175]

 Romania
None
18[176]
According to law 61/1991 updated in 2008, paragraphs 21-25, it is illegal to serve or sell alcohol to minors.

 Russia
None
18[177]
There is no law or regulation in Russia that prohibits minors from consuming alcohol, but selling alcohol to minors is prohibited by federal and additional regional laws.

 San Marino
16[178]

 Serbia
None
16[179]

 Slovakia
18[180]

 Slovenia
None
18[181]
There is no law regulating the possession and consumption, but it is illegal to sell or offer alcohol of any kind to minors.

 Spain
18
Asturias was the last autonomous community in Spain where the drinking age was increased to 18 (previously 16) on 1 May 2015.[182]

 Sweden

None

None (less than 2.25% ABV)
18 (bars and restaurants)
18 (2.25%–3.5% ABV in food shops)
20 (Systembolaget shops)[183],

See also: Alcohol in Sweden
Many clubs choose to have higher age limits than 18, commonly 20 or 23. It is legal to drink below 18, but it is illegal to sell, lend or give alcohol to someone under that age and the police can seize alcohol from them, apart from being served alcohol supervised in private "in moderation". It is legal to serve an underage person alcohol in a private place.[184] The reason for lower limit in bars than in Systembolaget shops is that bartenders have a legal responsibility for how drunk a guest gets.

  Switzerland
  Switzerland (federal law)
None
(See notes)
16 (fermented alcoholic drinks with less than 15% ABV and natural wines with less than 18% ABV)[185]
18 (spirits) [186]
Whoever offers or supplies alcoholic beverages to a child under the age of 16 years in an amount which is harmful to one's health is punished with imprisonment up to 3 years or a fine.[187] Whoever sells or supplies spirits to a person under the age of 18 years is punished with a fine up to 10.000 CHF.[188]

 Ticino
18
The canton Ticino prohibits selling and consumption of any type of alcohol by minors under the age of 18. Some shops and supermarkets may not sell alcohol to minors under the age of 18.[189]

 Turkey
18[43]

See also: Alcohol laws of Turkey

 Ukraine
18[43]

 United Kingdom
 England
 Wales
18[190]
16 (beer, wine or cider with meal)[190]
5 (private)[191]
None (under medical supervision, or in an emergency)[191]
Legislation in  England and  Wales:

It is illegal to sell, serve, offer or consume alcoholic beverages on licensed premises under the age of 18, other than the following two exceptions:[190]

Minors aged 16 or 17 may consume wine, beer or cider on licensed premises when ordered with a meal, and accompanied by an adult.[190]
It is legal to sell liqueur confectionery to someone of any age.

It is illegal to permit minors under the age of 5 to consume alcoholic beverages unless under medical supervision or in an emergency.[191]
Persons over 17 are entitled to their own duty free allowance, which includes alcohol. [192]

 Scotland
18
16 (beer, wine or cider on licensed premises with meal)[193]
None (private)
Legislation in  Scotland:

It is illegal to sell, serve, offer or consume alcoholic beverages in public under the age of 18, other than the following two exceptions:[194]

Minors aged 16 or 17 may consume wine, beer or cider on licensed premises when ordered with a meal.[194]
It is legal to sell liqueur confectionery to someone of any age.

Persons over 17 are entitled to their own duty free allowance, which includes alcohol. [192]

 Northern Ireland
18
Legislation in Northern Ireland:
It is illegal to sell, serve, offer or consume alcoholic beverages in public under the age of 18.

 United Kingdom
Challenge 21 and Challenge 25 (applies to all of the  United Kingdom)
Under the BBPA's Challenge 21 and Challenge 25 schemes, customers attempting to buy alcoholic beverages are asked to prove their age if in the retailer's opinion they look under 21[195] (or optionally 25) even though the law states they must be a minimum of 18. Many supermarket and off-licence chains display Challenge 21 (or Challenge 25) notices stating that they will not serve persons who look under 21 (or 25) without ID.

text: Oceania[edit]

text:
Country
State/Region/Province
De jure
Notes

Drinking age
Purchase age

 American Samoa
21[196]

 Australia
18[43][197]

Main article: Alcohol laws of Australia
Varies by state. Some states restrict possession and consumption to over 18, all states restrict purchasing to over 18. In some states, minors may consume alcohol in a private residence with parental permission.[198]

 Fiji
18[199]
The drinking age was 21 from 2006 to 2009 but was lowered to 18 in 2009.[199]

 Guam
21[200]

 Micronesia, Federated States of
18[201]

 New Zealand
None
18[202]
Minimum age applies for beverages with 1.15% ABV or over; no restrictions on beverages less than 1.15% ABV.[203]
Persons under 18 may drink outside private residences or private functions if accompanied by their parent or legal guardian. Alcohol may be supplied to minors only by, or with express consent from, their parent or legal guardian.[204]

 Northern Mariana Islands
21[205]

 Palau
21[206]
It is illegal to sell or serve any alcoholic beverage to a person under 21 years of age. Minors may access a bar or licensed premises only if accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Minors buying, consuming or attempting to buy alcohol are commiting a offence. The law provides a exception for the consumption of alcohol by minors as part of a religiously recognized ceremony.[206]

 Papua New Guinea
18[207]
It is illegal for a minor to purchase, consume or attempt to purchase alcoholic beverages. Any licence holder has to ensure that the customer who he sells or serves alcohol to, is at least 18 years of age. Violation of this law is fined.[207]

 Samoa
21[208]
Selling or serving alcohol to a person under the age of twenty-one years is punished with three hundred dollars or imprisonment for nine months or both, a fine and imprisonment.[209]

 Solomon Islands
None[209]
21[209]
Selling or serving alcohol to a person under the age of twenty-one years is punished with three hundred dollars or imprisonment for nine months or both, a fine and imprisonment.[209]

 Tokelau
18[210]

 Tonga
18[211]
Selling, serving or supplying alcohol to a minor is illegal. It is also illegal for minors to buy, attempt to buy or consume alcohol in any public place and any violation of this law is fined up to $1,000.[211]

 Vanuatu
18[212]
It is unlawful to sell, serve or supply alcohol to any person under the age of 18 years. Violation of the law is fined up to VT 25,000 or by a term of imprisonment not exceeding 3 months, or by both, fine and imprisonment. Any minor under the age of 18 years, beeing found in possession or consumption of alcohol is fined up to VT 10,000.[212]