The House of Burgesses was the elected representative element of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia. It was the first popularly elected legislative body in the New World, modeled after the English Parliament, and established in 1619. The House of Burgesses gave itself parliamentary privileges to protect its integrity and its members. It was an essential institution in the colonys government, and the only elected public officials in Virginia at that time. The burgesses vigorously defended both the interests of Virginias increasingly wealthy planters, who began to dominate state and local politics, and the institutional interests of the House.

From 1642 to 1776, the House of Burgesses was an instrument of government alongside the royally-appointed colonial governor and the upper-house Council of State in the General House. When the Virginia colony declared its independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain at the Fifth Virginia Convention in 1776 and became the independent Commonwealth of Virginia, the House of Burgesses became the House of Delegates, which continues to serve as the lower house of the General Assembly.

The House of Burgesses was a bicameral body, with the democratically-elected House of Burgesses as its lower house, while the royally-appointed Council of State served as the upper house of the legislature. Only white men who owned a specific amount of property were eligible to vote for Burgesses.

In summary, the House of Burgesses was a significant institution in the colonial government of Virginia, and the first popularly elected legislative body in the New World. It was a bicameral body that gave itself parliamentary privileges to protect its integrity and its members, and it vigorously defended the interests of Virginias wealthy planters and the institutional interests of the House.