Richmond, an independent city, is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Surrounded by Chesterfield and Henrico Counties, it was settled in 1607 by settlers from Jamestown and founded as a city in 1737. It was the site of Patrick Henry's 1775 "Give me liberty or give me death," speech in 1775 and became the capital of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia in 1780. It was the capital of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War, and the White House of the Confederacy still exists.
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