1. Chapter 6 Supplemental Notes

2. Plantation System

3. Located Along the coasts of the South
Near deep water rivers
Height of plantations system 1730s-1890s
Each plantation like a small town
“Big House”- home of the plantation owner
Row of outbuildings: barrel makers, blacksmiths, cabins for house slaves, kitchen, well, smoke house
Fields behind the big house with row of slave cabins for slaves working in the fields

4. Some characteristics of slave life
Worked from sun up to sun down 6 to 6.5 days a week and only 1-2 days off a year
Received 1-2 sets of clothes a year & 1 thin blanket
Each plantation had an overseer and driver
Overseer was white and managed the plantation for the owner
Driver was a slave appointed by the overseer to maintain discipline in the fields and quarters

5. Ways slaves stopped work nonviolently
Day-to-day small acts of rebellion
Sang songs to set a slower pace
Broke tools/machinery for the plantation
Faked illness
Playing dumb/not understanding the directions

8. Tobacco Cultivation
The introduction and successful cultivation of tobacco was the most significant development in colonial VA
New crop to the area- required trial and error
The steps involved in planting, cultivating, harvesting and preparing tobacco required a large labor force
It was believed African slaves could provide this labor force because it was thought that the slaves could withstand the heat and humidity better and were less susceptible to diseases than the Indians

9. By 1675 Virginia had become England’s most profitable colony
Exported more than ten million pounds of tobacco to England each year
By 1758, exported 70 million mounds
70,000 Hogsheads
Hogsheads= barrels they shipped the tobacco in
The demand for tobacco increased the demand for slaves
By 1790, VA had 293,000 slaves
By 1860, 490,865 slaves (highest of any southern colony)

11. Steps of Tobacco Cultivation:
Took four months to grow the tobacco
Began preparing seedbeds in January/February
Took the seedlings from the seedbeds and planted them in May
Knee-high hills were made every 3-4 feet
Until the plan was knee-high, weekly cultivation was needed to remove weeds and worms
In June the plants had to primed and topped
Grew to be 6-9 feet tall by early September and was ready to be harvested
Had to be harvested at the right time or would lose value
Cut the tobacco and left it to be cured for 4-6 weeks, hung upside down in a warehouse

12. After it was dry, it had to “sweat” by being laid on the damp floor for 1-2 weeks
Sorted the crop, had absorbed the right amount of moisture and was the right texture
Was inspected by the government before being exported
Once dry, the leaves were twisted and rolled and then put into barrels called a “hogshead”
Problems:
Dried out the soil and did not use crop rotation
Only one crop meant the colony’s economy was very fragile