The area including the site of present-day Richmond was visited by the English colonizer Captain John Smith in 1607. The first permanent non-Native American settlement in the area was established at the falls of the James River in 1637, and Fort Charles was constructed in 1644 to protect the settlers from attack by Native Americans. The community developed as a trading center, and in 1737 it was laid out under the patronage of William Byrd, a colonial statesman. It was named for Richmond upon Thames, England. Richmond became the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1780. The settlement was partly burned by the British under the leadership of Benedict Arnold in 1781. In 1861 Richmond was made the capital of the Confederate States of America and as such was a major objective of Union forces during the Civil War. On April 3, 1865, after many attempts, Union troops, led by General Ulysses S. Grant, succeeded in occupying the city, but only after it had been evacuated and principal sections had been burned by its own residents.

A major banking center, Richmond is the headquarters of the Fifth Federal Reserve District and several insurance companies. The city is also home to such national corporations as Reynolds Metals Company, James River Corporation, and the CSX railroad. Manufactures in the area include tobacco products, paper goods, processed food, chemicals, metal and wood items, printed materials, and textiles.

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