Tobacco: The “Savior” of Virginia Donna Shifflett Ruckersville Elementary School Greene County Schools TAH Grant: America on the World Stage 2009

Columbus’ Role in the Spread of Tobacco According to Columbus’ journal, the Indians in the islands of San Salvador offered him tobacco leaves, which they considered precious. While tobacco use appears to have been common in the Caribbean, it was likely rare in Europe. While tobacco residue has been found in small amounts human remains in African and Asian remains, there is no proof that tobacco was used often in those regions.

Sir Walter Raleigh and His Use of Tobacco Sir Walter Raleigh, founder of the Lost Colony, was introduced to tobacco by the British explorer Francis Drake in 1585, and he introduced the plant to Queen Elizabeth and her court. It became fashionable to smoke in England. Many people thought it would cure diseases such as scurvy, tuberculosis, the plague and others.

King James I raised import taxes on the weed Jamestown was settled in 1607, three years after King James I issued his Counterblast Against Tobacco. The Counterblast wrote of the ill effects of tobacco. He said tobacco was… “custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs, and in the black stinking fume thereof nearest resembling the horrible stygian smoke of the pit that is bottomless. However, the King quickly raised import taxes on the weed to raise revenue for Britain.

John Rolfe and Pocahontas John Rolfe arrived in Jamestown in 1610 and by 1612 he introduced another breed of tobacco that is sweeter than what the Indians grew. In 1614 he married Pocahontas, an event that contributed to a period of eight years of relative peace between the Indians and the English settlers.

New Tobacco Laws The British government passed laws governing tobacco growth in Jamestown in 1619. There were reports that tobacco was growing in the streets of Jamestown and people were starving! One of the first laws the House of Burgesses passed regarded tobacco! The House of Burgesses met at the Jamestown church and its first order of business was to set the minimum price of tobacco at 3 shillings per pound.

British Laws and Tobacco By the 1730’s tobacco taxes were bringing in a large sum of money for the British and the government passed additional laws which forbade Britain from importing tobacco from any colony or nation EXCEPT Virginia. This shut down the trade from other European colonies. England enjoyed the additional taxes from Virginia tobacco because before tobacco could go to other European countries, such as Russia, England collected the duty.

The Growth of Cities Tobacco took root in the American colony of Virginia and spread to other Southern colonies. Plantations grew and the need for labor increased. Plantation owners purchased slaves to work the tobacco fields. Slaves would be a part of Southern history until after the Civil War. Warehouses were built in small towns to house and sell the tobacco. Due to the growth in infrastructure, other businesses moved to these towns. This resulted in cities growing in both population and prosperity.

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Question 1: True or False Tobacco was most likely introduced to Europe when Columbus returned from his journey.

TRUE

Question 2 What did King James’ I Counterblast to Tobacco say? Was he right or wrong?

The Counterblast to Tobacco said that tobacco was….. “custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs, and in the black stinking fume thereof nearest resembling the horrible stygian smoke of the pit that is bottomless. King James was RIGHT!

tobacco laws help the growth of tobacco in Virginia? Question 3 So, how did all these tobacco laws help the growth of tobacco in Virginia?

The numbers speak for themselves! Year Colonial Tobacco Imports to England (includes Virginia from 1612 and Bermuda from 1615) European Tobacco Imports to England 1616 2,300 52,673 1617 19,388 50,906 1618 41,728 42,871 1623 134,607 66,877 1624 202,962 63,497 Chart created from information in Beer, 1922

Question 4 Explain how the marriage of Pocahontas and John Rolfe helped or hurt the growth of tobacco.

In 1614 John Rolfe married Pocahontas, an event that contributed to a period of eight years of relative peace between the Indians and the English settlers. This allowed the Jamestown settlers to take over more land and grow tobacco which was exported to Great Britain.

What effect did tobacco have on slavery? Question 5 What effect did tobacco have on slavery?

More tobacco was grown and the growth of plantations caused the need for labor to increase. Plantation owners purchased slaves to work the tobacco fields. Cities grew as tobacco became integrated into Virginia economy.

References Beer, George Louis, (1922).  The Origins of the British Colonial System 1578-1660.  Retrieved from  http://www.jstor.org/stable/1837070 “A Brief History of Jamestown, Virginia” Tobacco News and Information. http://www.tobacco.org/History/Jamestown.html Frank M. Wooten, Jr., Papers (#126), [Online Image] Retrieved November 30, 2009 from Special Collections Department, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA. http://digital.lib.ecu.edu/exhibits/tobacco/imageFiles/TFLD/3TFLD001.jpg Rothstein, Arthur, (Sept,1937). [Online Image] A Healthy Stand of New Jersey Corn. Retrieved November 30, 2009 from Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, DC, USA. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi- bin/query/i?pp/fsaall:@field(NUMBER+@band(fsa+8b36163)) Van de Passe, Simon, (1624). [Online Image] Matoaka Rebecka daughter to the mighty Prince Powhatan. Retrieved October 8, 2009 from Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, DC, USA, http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi- bin/query/h?pp/PPALL:@field(NUMBER+@1(pga+03343)) Image of scroll http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=scroll+loc&go=&form=QBIR#focal=77800cece1b31109 71eca3e39b583e6f&furl=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.designcentersearch.com%2Fimages%2Far chive%2Fmn%2F2009%2F017%2F000256%2F090118256MN76635%2F0001%2F5_Scroll_F awn_100019.jpg Retrieved November 30, 2009 from Google Images.

View of North Main Street between Fifth and Sixth Streets [Online Image]. 190?. Retrieved November 4, 2009 from DigitalForsyth from the Forsyth County Library, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. http://www.digitalforsyth.org/photos/5449 Tobacco Counterblast. [Online image] Retrieved October 8, 2009 from Virginia Memory, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219 http://www.virginiamemory.com/online_classroom/lesson_plans/tobacco_counterbl ast#lesson_imgs Jackson, William Henry (1902) Photographs from the Detroit Publishing Company, [Online image] Retrieved November 4, 2009from Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, DC, USA http://memory.loc.gov/cgi- bin/query/r?ammem/detr:@field%28NUMBER+@band%28det+4a09402%29%29 10. A Proclamation Concerning Tobacco [Online image] Retrieved October 8, 2009 from Virginia Memory, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219 http://www.virginiamemory.com/reading_room/this_day_in_virginia_history/january/06