was still
inferior to Spanish tobacco. In 1616 Rolfe modestly asserted, "no doubt
but after a little more triall and expense in the curing thereof, it
will compare with the best in the West Indies." The success of Rolfe's
experiment was soon apparent. In 1617, 20,000 pounds of tobacco were
exported from Virginia, and in the following year the amount doubled.

Tobacco did not become the chief staple owing merely to the successful
attempts by Rolfe to produce a satisfactory smoking leaf. As has been
noted, there was a ready market for tobacco in England before the
settlers landed at Jamestown. A second important cause was the fact
that tobacco was indigenous to the soil and climate of Virginia.
Tobacco also had a greater advantage Over All Other Staples in That It
Could Be Produced in Larger Quantities Per Acre. This Was Important
Considering the Labor Required To Clear the Trees and Prepare One Acre
for Cultivation. It Was Soon Discovered That the Amount of Tobacco
Produced by One Man's Labor Was Worth About Six Times the Amount of
Wheat That One Man Could Grow and Harvest. Moreover, Tobacco Could Be
Shipped More Economically Than Any Other Crop; Thus the Monetary Return
Upon a Cargo Was Greater Than for Any Other Crop That Could Be Produced
in the Colony.

One Other Factor Must Not Be Overlooked. One of the Basic Aims of the
English Colonial Policy Was the Development Of Colonial Resources,
Which Would at the Same Time Create a Colonial Market for English
Manufactures in the Colonies. Tobacco Proved To Be Virginia's Most
Valuable Staple, and With Everyone Feverishly Growing the Plant, the
Colony Became an Important Colonial Market. Virginia Purchased English
Goods Delivered in English Ships With Her Tobacco, England Marketed
Much of the Tobacco In Europe and Received Specie Or Goods That Could
Be Sold Elsewhere. This Created a Market for English Manufactures, the
English Merchant Fleet Profited From the Carrying Trade and There Was
No Drain of Specie From England.

THE TOBACCO PLANTATION: FROM JAMESTOWN TO THE BLUE RIDGE

The cultivation of tobacco soon spread from John Rolfe's garden to
every available plot of ground within the fortified districts in
Jamestown. By 1617 the value of tobacco was well known in every
settlement or plantation in Virginia--Bermuda, Dale's Gift, Henrico,
Jamestown, Kecoughtan, and West and Shirley Hundreds--each under a
commander. Governor Dale allowed its culture to be gradually exten