The Virginia Resolves were a series of resolutions passed on May 29, 1765, by the Virginia House of Burgesses in response to the Stamp Act of 1765, which had imposed a tax on the British colonies in North America requiring that material be printed on paper made in London which carried an embossed revenue stamp. The act had been passed by the Parliament of Great Britain to help pay off some of its debt from its various wars, including the French and Indian War fought in part to protect the American colonies.
Patrick Henry's speech on the Virginia Resolves (1851 painting by Peter F. Rothermel)
The House of Burgesses was the elected representative element of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia.
Patrick Henry in the Virginia House of Burgesses by Peter F. Rothermel
Image: House of Burgesses in the Capitol Williamsburg James City County Virginia by Frances Benjamin Johnston
Second Capitol at Williamsburg (viewed from Duke of Gloucester Street)