Transcript england currency

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
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Individual plantations rather than centralized settlements
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Plantations on rivers, each with a private dock or wharf
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Rivers were deep enough for tobacco ships to travel inland
Tobacco Plantations
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Average size 200 acres or less
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One-two rooms, dirt floors, chimney and fireplace
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Slaves lived in outbuildings
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Livestock: Oxen, horses, chickens, pigs, cows, sheep
Trading
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Tobacco sent to England then sold and exchanged for goods
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Navigation Acts of 1651
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Commission Agents
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Goods bought: guns, clothes, tools, cutlery, furniture, paper, ink,
saddles, and window glass
Trading Ports
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After the English civil war in 1660 trading ports sprang up
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Bideford
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Obtained fleet of tobacco ships
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Built quay in 1663 for trading
Money
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Tobacco was currency
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Used to pay taxes and fines
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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
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1660 – market became overloaded with tobacco
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“Trash tobacco” – mixed things like leaves in with the tobacco
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Overall quality deteriorated
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Caused decline in demand from England – hurt economy
Inspection Acts
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Governor Gooch passed the Inspection Acts in 1730
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Developed a warehouse system:
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All tobacco had to be brought to local warehouse
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Hogsheads were inspected for quality
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Loose bundles could be added to transfer tobacco stock
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Received a “transfer note” giving you certain pounds of tobacco
from the transfer tobacco stock
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Helped other tradesmen
Transfer Note
Types of Tobacco

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Orinoco:
Large, pointed leaf
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Sweet-Scented:
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Round shape, finer fibers
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Grown all over Virginia

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Considered too bitter for
Englishmen
Grown in southern part near
river banks
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Mild – preferred by England
Farming Tobacco
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Very labor-intensive
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To clear fields: girdled trees and burned brush to save time and
money of cutting trees
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Seeds planted in winter in protected area
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Seedlings transplanted outside in spring
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Plants weeded and insects picked off periodically during the
growing season
Farming Tobacco
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Harvested late summer
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Each leaf cut off of plant by hand
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Hung on stakes to dry in tobacco barn
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Curing process took 4-6 weeks
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Sorted leaves and rolled into bundles
Farming Tobacco
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Bundles placed in Hogshead
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Hogshead = Large barrel
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Held about 1,000 pounds of tobacco
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Small plantations produced 1-2,000 pounds a year
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Large plantations could produce 50,000 pounds a year
Video
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1UUBG4iZ-g
Slavery
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Not dominant labor force in the beginning of the colony
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Colonists first used indentured servants
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1680s slavery became prominent
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More slaves = more tobacco farmed = more wealth for plantations
Trades
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Carpenters – built houses for those without carpentry skills
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Coopers – built barrels (Hogsheads)
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Blacksmiths – produced tools for other tradesmen
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Shoemakers – popular trade, first came to colony in 1610
Conclusion
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Tobacco, Tobacco, Tobacco!!!
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The Virginia colony did not have a diversified economy
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Farming tobacco was a yearlong process
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Financial security solely tied to tobacco market
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Tobacco used as currency in the colony and England
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Slaves brought to colony to increase tobacco production