The Economy of Colonial Virginia RACHEL PEGELOW

Founding of the Virginia Colony  Founded at Jamestown in 1607  Difficult conditions  Starving time  Hostile Native Americans  Other productions failed  John Rolfe introduced tobacco as a cash crop in 1613

Tobacco Plantations  Individual plantations rather than centralized settlements  Plantations on rivers, each with a private dock or wharf  Rivers were deep enough for tobacco ships to travel inland

Tobacco Plantations  Average size 200 acres or less  One-two rooms, dirt floors, chimney and fireplace  Slaves lived in outbuildings  Livestock: Oxen, horses, chickens, pigs, cows, sheep

Trading  Tobacco sent to England then sold and exchanged for goods  Navigation Acts of 1651  Commission Agents  Goods bought: guns, clothes, tools, cutlery, furniture, paper, ink, saddles, and window glass

Trading Ports  After the English civil war in 1660 trading ports sprang up  Bideford - Obtained fleet of tobacco ships - Built quay in 1663 for trading

Money  Tobacco was currency  Used to pay taxes and fines  Duties on tobacco exports was a main source of revenue for the Virginia Colony  Colonists who were not tobacco farmers tended small amounts of tobacco to pay taxes and buy goods.

Price Fluctuations  1660 – market became overloaded with tobacco  “Trash tobacco” – mixed things like leaves in with the tobacco  Overall quality deteriorated  Caused decline in demand from England – hurt economy

Inspection Acts  Governor Gooch passed the Inspection Acts in 1730  Developed a warehouse system: - All tobacco had to be brought to local warehouse - Hogsheads were inspected for quality - Loose bundles could be added to transfer tobacco stock - Received a “transfer note” giving you certain pounds of tobacco from the transfer tobacco stock - Helped other tradesmen

Transfer Note

Types of Tobacco  Orinoco:  Large, pointed leaf  Grown all over Virginia  Considered too bitter for Englishmen  Sweet-Scented:  Round shape, finer fibers  Grown in southern part near river banks  Mild – preferred by England

Farming Tobacco  Very labor-intensive  To clear fields: girdled trees and burned brush to save time and money of cutting trees  Seeds planted in winter in protected area  Seedlings transplanted outside in spring  Plants weeded and insects picked off periodically during the growing season

Farming Tobacco  Harvested late summer  Each leaf cut off of plant by hand  Hung on stakes to dry in tobacco barn  Curing process took 4-6 weeks  Sorted leaves and rolled into bundles

Farming Tobacco  Bundles placed in Hogshead  Hogshead = Large barrel  Held about 1,000 pounds of tobacco  Small plantations produced 1-2,000 pounds a year  Large plantations could produce 50,000 pounds a year

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Slavery  Not dominant labor force in the beginning of the colony  Colonists first used indentured servants  1680s slavery became prominent  More slaves = more tobacco farmed = more wealth for plantations

Trades  Carpenters – built houses for those without carpentry skills  Coopers – built barrels (Hogsheads)  Blacksmiths – produced tools for other tradesmen  Shoemakers – popular trade, first came to colony in 1610

Conclusion  Tobacco, Tobacco, Tobacco!!!  The Virginia colony did not have a diversified economy  Farming tobacco was a yearlong process  Financial security solely tied to tobacco market  Tobacco used as currency in the colony and England  Slaves brought to colony to increase tobacco production