Spain had since the time of Columbus exacted one-fifth of all the gold and silver discovered in his American dominions, and Elizabeth had done the same with hers. James had a good deal of respect for Elizabeth, but vastly more for the king of Spain, and thought his example should he followed. But finally Morton evaded this condition by proposing, as if boastfully, to yield the royal treasury from his colony double the amount of gold yielded each year by the four times broader colony of Virginia. James had never seen an ounce of gold from Virginia, but esteeming himself very shrewd, thought that the reckless young man's proposal offered an advantage, and the royal trader closed with it. It is needless to say that Morton never had to pay James nor any of his successors an ounce of gold on this condition in his charter.
When it came to the name of the colony, James was about to propose a name in honor of some member of the royal family, but Morton desired the name "Aristopia"—the best place—to which the royal scholar assented.
The South Virginia Company had a charter for the region extending from the thirty-fourth to the fortieth parallel and one hundred miles
