Byrd, William (1674-1744) American historian and diarist. William Byrd II
of Westover, Virginia was one of the most cultivated men of his time; his
library was the largest in the colonies. Educated in England, Byrd returned
to Virginia in 1705 and became one of America's greatest landowners and a
leading political figure. His view of American life was decidedly different
than that of the Puritan commentators.
A Visit to Colonel Spotswood (1732) An excerpt from "A Progress to the
Mines." Byrd pays an extended visit to an old friend, Colonel Spotswood at
his "enchanted castle" in Rappahannock. After talking over old stories, he
seeks the colonel's instruction in the "mysteries of making iron." The
colonel later unriddles the great mystery, "why we have endured all the
late insolences of the Spaniards so tamely."
