Answer :
They were corporations (Virginia Company of London and Virginia Company of Plymouth) and they were employed by the Crown. The Crown gave them the right to self-govern and the Companies did the same for their settlers (colonies).
Answer:
The Virginia Company refers collectively to two joint-stock companies chartered under James I on April 10, 1606 with the goal of establishing settlements on the coast of America. ... The principle was thus established that a royal colony should be self-governing, and this formed the genesis of democracy in America.
Explanation: