 " Jamestown 2007 " marked Virginia 's <unk> year , celebrating 400 years since the establishment of the Jamestown Colony . The celebrations highlighted contributions from Native Americans , Africans , and Europeans , each of which had a significant part in shaping Virginia 's history . Warfare , including among these groups , has also had an important role . Virginia was a focal point in conflicts from the French and Indian War , the American Revolution and the Civil War , to the Cold War and the War on Terrorism . Stories about historic figures , such as those surrounding Pocahontas and John Smith , George Washington 's childhood , or the plantation elite in the slave society of the antebellum period , have also created potent myths of state history , and have served as rationales for Virginia 's ideology . 
