Tobacco In The 1600's

Life in the early 1600’s is a big contrast to the way we live in American in present day times. Back then America was just starting out as there were no official towns yet because not many Europeans lived here. All of that changed in the year 1607 when the first English settlement was built. Years later more came to America for different reasons; some came to have better opportunities and make a decent living but another big reason was to escape religious persecution. This was the beginning of Puritan life in America.

The colonies of Massachusetts and Virginia were a start of the new world for England. These were founded by similar people but, with their strikingly differences, grew into separate political, economic and social structures. Both settlements arose from over-crowdedness in England: people wanted a better life. Virginia was settled by men who were single and looking for opportunities and wealth. They were part of the Anglican religion. Those in Massachusetts were puritans and looking for a place where they would be free from religious persecution. Wealthy people who could afford the boat journey and did not have to become indentured slaves went for a more settled life.

The fur industry was pivotal for the imperialist powers of the 1600’s. The gain of this luxurious industry ultimately meant wealth and power. This trade industry alters Canada immensely. The trading post known as York Factory and Moose Factory sought native people to travel vastly collecting furs and pelts. Ultimately this altered their conventual nomadic movements. The French traded differently and trade exchanges would be timely affairs this lead to the French taking native wives; therefore, evolving Métis people. The Native peoples began dependent on firearms, ammunition, and European food, as they spent all of their time hunting for the Europeans; therefore, they did not have time to provide for their tribes. Traditional the economy was

The tobacco plant was introduced to the colonists by the Native Americans. The concept of smoking a plant was unusual for the colonists until they first tried it. It became a popular and important commodity when the colonists realized trading tobacco was lucrative. Their attitude towards tobacco turned from joyful and curious to greedy and avaricious since it was bankable, benefiting both the North American and English economies. The landowners took advantage of the indentured servants, slaves and farmers. Government officials were corrupt since they imposed illegal tolls on tobacco and pirates from all nations took to violence by pirating English vessels that had tobacco goods. The tobacco trade turned the colonists into exploitative, corrupt and even violent people.

I am enlightened by your desire to come join me here in Jamestown, but life has been a never ending roller coaster as the years slowly pass by. Some days I wonder if leaving the slums to avoid my peasant status was worth risking making an attempt at creating a new life in Jamestown. I have trouble falling asleep as I am persistently worrying about whether or not I will wake up the next morning, or if I will die in my sleep during a surprise Indian attack. Even tobacco alone cannot soothe my nerves and paranoia, nor can the money that has been produced from the tobacco market keep my mind in a state of peace. Even though the colony has recently prospered from the blooming tobacco business, I would strongly recommend for you all to refrain from coming here unless you enjoy an indentured servant life, constant Native American threats, and terrible living conditions.

California was born in the middle of many issues of conflict. Crisis over slavery, political legitimacy, and conflict over land, labor, race and ethnicity ( Competing Vision 132 ).During the mid 1800’s California saw many transformations, some positive some negative. There was a slow reservations development for Indians, but a better established land ownership. With certain political figures, who rallied to remove laws, which discriminated against African Americans and rather high religious tolerance, California was taking a distinct shape.

Tobacco was the basis of economic life and a motivation for settling down in Jamestown. This helped result in an increase of settlers. The English expansion sparked war in 1622 led by Opechancanough. This war resulted in a tragic death of about a third of the nation. Particularly, the English inhabitants seized Indian’s land and food, cornering the Indian citizens towards limiting possibilities; needless to say they ended up dispersing. James I made accusations toward the Virginia Company for carelessness and in 1624 James I made Virginia a royal colony. Originally, the monopoly for tobacco created an economic boom in the Chesapeake and enticed migrants, but ultimately diseases kept the overall population low and life expectancy short.

Slavery first came to the colonies in 1619. When the first Africa slave arrived in Jamestown. Jamestown found success in mass producing tobacco. In order to increase production, slaves were imported in to met the demand. Slavery was not very popular in the beginning because of the cost. Slaves cost twice as much as indentured servants, they had little economic benefits. Chesapeake planters owned more indentured servant, then slaves. In the late 1600’s the slave population grow slowly. That chanced in 1670 when more and more slaves were imported in to North America. By 1700 the African population in Chesapeake stood at 22%. During 1700’s the European demand for tobacco increased. When tobacco became higher in demand it cause the demand for

Cannibalism was not off the plate in jamestown! The southern colonies were unsuccessful, because of tobacco, servants, starving, swamp area, house of burgesses, and Nate Bacon.

Eli Whitney invented The Cotton Gin in 1794. The purpose of this invention was to speeding up the elimination of seeds from the cotton fiber and as a result, an increase in the production of cotton.

The book ‘Everyday Life in Early America’ by David Hawke provides a comprehensive account of the history of early settlers in America. It maintains that the geographic concept including the physical environment is a chief factor that influences the behavior of individuals. The author assumes that early settlers came to America in the hope of taking forward their customs and traditions while starting afresh in a foreign land. However, the physical environment brought about certain changes to their traditions and customs. The people slowly began to understand that the only way to survive would be to modify their patterns of living (Hawk, 1989).

In Virginia, people mostly focused on growing of staples and exotic crops for cash. The crops that they grew in their colony were rice, indigo, and tobacco. But in Virginia, tobacco was the crop that they focused on, in fact, tobacco was the first most famous staple crop grown and became their economic foundation. As far as working in the fields, Virginia started off with indentured servants to perform the labor, but as they became expensive they shifted to purchasing slaves. Mortality rates were higher because of diseases that many of them came in contact with, men were expected to live to forty and women weren’t expected to live past their thirties.

Prohibition was a period of 13 years in U.S. history in which the manufacture, sale, and transportation of liquor was made illegal from 1920 to 1933. It was known as the “Noble Experiment” and led to the first and only time an Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was repealed.

The colony of Virginia wasn’t always efficient in the growth and trade of tobacco. To understand the role tobacco played in the development of the economy and society of the once destitute colony, we first must look back at how Virginia was established. Although not considered to be a part of the founding of Virginia, before 1607 there were two attempts made by English settlers to establish a colony in the Chesapeake region of North America. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth first of her name, a charter was granted to English settlers that would allow for colonies to be established

As a nation we have come to point where we must take a unified stand on the issue of marijuana. Since 1937 the drug has been deemed illegal by the U.S. government but over the best decade, people have been pushing for the decriminalization of the cannabis plant. As a non drug user, i have researched the internet in search of unbiased information regarding the drugs health, economic, and crime influences on society. The fruits of my labor have brought me to the undisputable conclusion that our continued restriction on possession and use of the drug not only violates the liberties of U.S. citizens, but it also is costing Americans Billions of dollars, and something, our lives.