n.
City (pop., 2000: 146,437), southeastern Virginia, U.S. Located on Chesapeake Bay and the northern shore of Hampton Roads , it forms part of a metropolitan complex that includes Newport News , Norfolk , Virginia Beach , Chesapeake , and Portsmouth .
It originated around a fort built by the British in 1609 on the site of an Indian village. Permanent settlement dates from 161011, making it the country's oldest continuously settled community of English origin. In 1861, during the American Civil War , it was burned by its Confederate residents to prevent it from being occupied by Union troops; it was rebuilt after the war. Military installations and tourism are important to the economy. Hampton University (1868) was established there by the Freedmen's Bureau to educate former slaves.