Long before English settlers arrived in 1607, the area that is now Richmond was an important settlement for the Powhatan Confederacy, a powerful alliance of Indigenous tribes. The English initially established a brief outpost near the river's fall line, but the modern city was officially founded in 1737 by planter William Byrd II, who named it after Richmond upon Thames in England because the view of the James River mirrored that of the River Thames.
Richmond quickly became a vital center for trade. In 1775, it entered the annals of American history when Patrick Henry delivered his famous "Give me liberty, or give me death!" speech at St. John's Church, igniting the Revolutionary spirit. In 1780, the capital of Virginia was moved from Williamsburg to Richmond to be more centralized and better protected from British attacks.
During the American Civil War, Richmond served as the capital of the Confederate States of America from 1861 to 1865. The city was a major industrial center, utilizing the Tredegar Iron Works to supply the Confederate military. In April 1865, as Union troops advanced, retreating Confederate forces set fire to the city's warehouses, resulting in the Evacuation Fire that destroyed much of the downtown area.
In the post-war era, Richmond rebuilt and industrialized. The city holds the distinction of launching the first successful electric streetcar system in the United States in 1888. The Jackson Ward neighborhood became famously known as the "Black Wall Street of America" and the "Harlem of the South," fostering immense African American entrepreneurial and cultural success despite the oppressive Jim Crow era. Throughout the 20th century, Richmond was a pivotal battleground for the Civil Rights Movement. Today, the city continues to reckon with and recontextualize its history, famously removing numerous Confederate monuments along Monument Avenue in 2020 to pave the way for a more inclusive future.