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Who was responsible for planting tobacco in Virginia?
John Rolfe
Known among his peers as “an ardent smoker,” John Rolfe introduced the tobacco plant to the Virginia colony. This plant became the cornerstone of the Virginia economy.
Who helped Jamestown with tobacco?
Colonist John Rolfe brought the seeds of sweeter tobacco to Jamestown in 1610, and from this microscopic item came the first major crop of the English Atlantic trade. By the end of the 17th century, hundreds of ships left England each year to transport tobacco leaves.
Who provided the primary source of labor in Virginia’s tobacco fields?
The first enslaved people arrived in Jamestown in 1619 and quickly became the primary source of human labor for large tobacco plantations. Farmers transported tobacco to market using Virginia’s navigable rivers and streams.
How did tobacco growers in Virginia first solve their labor shortage?
In Virginia, this labor demand was satisfied at first by indentured servants, who worked for a fixed number of years to pay their passage and then became free. That same year, the amount of tobacco being shipped from Virginia to England reached 22 million pounds.
How did Virginia make money in 1607?
Colonial Virginia depended on agriculture, (mostly tobacco growing), as its main source of wealth/money. African men, women & children were brought to the Virginia Colony & enslaved to work on tobacco plantations. Colonial Virginia was dependent on slave labor.
What is the history of tobacco in Virginia?
By 1617 the value of tobacco was well known in every settlement or plantation in Virginia–Bermuda, Dale’s Gift, Henrico, Jamestown, Kecoughtan, and West and Shirley Hundreds–each under a commander. Governor Dale allowed its culture to be gradually extended until it absorbed the whole attention at West and Shirley Hundreds and Jamestown.
Where was the first tobacco plantation in Jamestown?
The first general planting in the colony began at West and Shirley Hundreds where twenty-five men, commanded by a Captain Madison, were employed solely in planting and curing tobacco. In 1616 the tobacco fever struck furiously in Jamestown.
Where was tobacco grown in the Tidewater region?
A considerable amount of tobacco was also being grown in the lower region of the Valley of Virginia. As the tobacco industry continued to expand into Piedmont Virginia, there was a gradual decline in the Tidewater area.
What was the role of indentured servants in tobacco production?
These planters relied on the unskilled labor of indentured servants or slaves for the bulk of cultivation and production tasks. One third of the year was consumed from the time the tobacco seed was planted until the cured leaves were prized (pressed) into hogshead barrels.