Jamestown Tobacco Essay

Without Tobacco, Jamestown would have failed as a Colony
In the year of 1606 King James 1 established 2 companies wanting a big profit out of these. He named them the London Company and the Plymouth Company. King James tricked some Englishmen into going to the Island in Virginia if they wanted land and riches. King James began by sending the London Company in the late December of 1606 his main priority was finding gold. In May of 1607 only a few Englishmen survived on the boat that had taken them to the Island. After they arrived they named this land Jamestown after their King James. Soon after they arrived they began having problems. The Englishmen never would have imagined that tobacco would be the only thing that would save Jamestown.
“Problems

soon emerged for the settlers” (A Brief History of Jamestown). Most of them did not even know what the word “labor” meant. The Englishmen soon realized that there was no gold to be found. No gold or riches were found. The settlers had no idea how to farm or hunt which brought great misery to them later on. The Englishmen had no hope and soon began to abandon the land. John Smith along with John Rolfe arrived and together they both made a big impact on Virginia along with tobacco.
In 1608 a man by the name of John Smith arrived at Virginia and became one of the colonies leaders.

“John Smith made a big impact on the colonies” (A Brief History of Jamestown). James Smith’s motto was “work or starve.” He pushed and motivated the new settlers into working harder. In 1609 Smith had a gun powder accident and returned to England. Leaving the colonists brought great misery to the settlers. Disease, farming and the weather all took a big impact on the colonists. This lead to the death of hundreds of Englishmen. This era was called the “Starving Time,” Hunger and disease quickly tore apart Jamestown. This hunger went to full extend that some people turned to cannibalism. A man was even punished and blamed for eating his own wife. Living conditions couldn’t have been worse after John Smith

left.
On May 24, 1610 a small group came upon only 10% of the 100 colonists who had survived the “starving time”. The few colonists that were there soon went back to James River. They had no crops, tools, houses, food and most importantly they had no hope of Jamestown one day rising. “It was the end” (A brief history of Jamestown, Virginia) John Rolfe arrived and unlike the others Role had hope for Jamestown. Rolfe began by planting the seed of tobacco in 1612.
Tobacco was hailed not only for pleasure, but also as a holy herb, a cure-all herb used for headaches, toothaches sores and ointments of the chest and lungs.

Tobacco brought great riches to the colonists and with that money they could have all they wanted. “Growing tobacco was like printing money” (Tobacco). They sold tobacco by the yard when added syrup. Settlers would even sell and trade their slaves for tobacco. In 1617 Governor Samuel Argall went to Jamestown and said that the settlers were cropping way too much tobacco. He then enforced a law saying that if the settlers do not grow food crops that they will no longer be able to grow

tobacco.
Ever since John Rolfe planted tobacco, “tobacco became the most popular thing” (Tobacco). The settlers now depended on tobacco and only tobacco. This happened just 2 years after Rolfe planted the first seeds. Rolfe didn't just give up on Jamestown like the other settlers. Rolfe had faith and lots of hope for jamestown. Planting tobacco took a lot of hard work and labor. This is when they started buying slaves to help with the tobacco labor.
“King James did not approve of tobacco being their main source and that they had to rely so much on it” (A Brief History of Jamestown). People from London were the main consumers of tobacco and soon began demanding it. Tobacco became a rage. Settlers were paying too much attention to tobacco instead of cropping food. With this happening there was lots of money, but not enough food.
Without tobacco Jamestown would have failed as a colony. Tobacco not coming into the settlers lives would have just destroyed the little men that were left there. Tobacco brought money and fame to Virginia. Although it took a lot of effort from the settlers to plant tobacco they managed to maintain Virginia alive. All of this happened because one man named John Rolfe that had hope on Jamestown.