Tobacco colonies
The tobacco colonies were those that lined the sea-level coastal region of
The Colonies
Virginia
The development of tobacco as an export began in Virginia in 1614 when one of the English colonists, John Rolfe, experimented with a plant he had brought from the West Indies, 'Nicotania tabacum. In the same year, the first tobacco shipment was sent to England. The British prized tobacco, for it was a way to display one's wealth to the public. Only those of high status could afford the new product.
As tobacco's popularity grew, it became the savior of the colonies. Due to the rough climate, the colonies were not able to produce other crops necessary for survival. With no crops, they lacked an income and a food supply, so the colonists took the opportunity to begin growing tobacco. The Virginia climate and land structure was perfect for tobacco plantations. As Virginia tobacco rapidly gained popularity abroad, it became more difficult to encourage the production of diverse crops or other commodities in the colony. Land was readily available and quick profits could be made on tobacco.
Tobacco cultivation is labor-intensive, requiring a large labor force.
As time passed, the Virginia Colony steadily increased its tobacco production. However, between the years of 1740 and 1770, the few decades just prior to the American Revolution, the population of Virginia was increasing more quickly than its tobacco production was, resulting in greater economic diversification.[1]
Maryland
In 1634 a second English colony, Maryland, was founded along the Chesapeake Bay. The land was granted by Charles I to Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, as a proprietary colony. Founded as a source of income for Baltimore and a refuge for Roman Catholics, tobacco soon became the dominant export in Maryland as it had in Virginia. While there were some enslaved people who worked the plantations in Maryland from the very beginning, slavery was not widespread until after 1700. Until that time, most of the work on the tobacco plantations was done by
North Carolina
While at first tobacco was grown in much larger quantities in Virginia and Maryland (the first and second largest colonial producers, respectively), North Carolina also grew the crop, and was ranked third among the colonies in tobacco production.[3] North Carolina tobacco plantations were mostly concentrated along the coast and close to the Virginia border. This region was conducive to growing tobacco due to its proximity to the Albemarle Sounds. Compared to the other tobacco colonies, North Carolina was less developed, with no cities and barely any small towns or villages.[4]
Types of tobacco
There were two major types of tobacco grown in the colonies – Sweet-scented and Orinoco. Orinoco was coarser, bulkier, and the shape of the leaf was pointier. Sweet-scented leaves on the other hand were rounder and were made up of finer fibers. Orinoco was grown all over the Chesapeake Bay, whereas Sweet-scented was only grown along the Potomac, James, York, and Rappahannock Rivers. While those in England preferred Sweet-scented tobacco, which had a milder flavor, the rest of Europe tended to prefer Orinoco, which was therefore more profitable for colonial plantation owners.[5]
Economic ties to England
The tobacco colonies were economic entities of England and were forced to adhere to the
See also
- Atlantic Creole
- British colonization of North America
- Chesapeake Colonies
- Colonial South and the Chesapeake
- History of slavery
- Scramble (slave auction)
- Seasoning(colonialism)
- Slavery in the colonial history of the United States
- The Slave Route Project
- Thirteen Colonies
- Tobacco and Slaves (1986 book)
- Tobacco in the American Colonies
References
- S2CID 154521322.
- ^ "Maryland, the First Proprietary Colony". Retrieved 28 February 2011.
- ^ a b "North Carolina Business History". Retrieved 28 February 2011.
- ^ "North Carolina". Retrieved 28 February 2011.
- ^ a b c "Economic Aspects of Tobacco during the Colonial Period 1612-1776". Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
- ^ "America and West Indies: December 1689." Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies: Volume 13, 1689-1692. Ed. J W Fortescue. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1901. 186-199. British History Online Retrieved 25 March 2021.