The Importance of Tobacco in the Rise of Capitalism (1600-1800) History 361 Business and Economic History: Sugar, Salt,

, and Slaves: Trade and Early American Capitalism Anne Briggs

The kind of society that comprised early America was vastly different than that of Europe, and the immigration of the British to colonial America necessitated the need to

become accustomed to an entirely new system than that of which they were used to in Britain. A people separated from their home and - due to the complications of travel and communication at the time often separated from the direct influence of their own government, the early Americans faced a great deal of adversity for a number of reasons, including unfamiliar climate, limited access to food and provisions, hostile natives, high mortality rates and so on. And yet, despite all that was working against them, the early Americans persevered, securing their place as one of the major contributors to current day capitalism and all that it involves. A society built from the labor of European immigrants, slaves, prisoners, and redemptioners, the early colonies were a prime location for the first steps toward the formation of a capitalist society (Cain, Hughes 8). During the formation of the early colonies, a vast expanse of opportunity was available, and the colonists began to take advantage of what America had to offer. The influx of new commodities, previously unknown methods of agriculture, and literally a whole new world of possibilities were available to the early Americans, it did not take much time before businesses began to emerge. This was, of course, a gradual evolution, but capitalism slowly began to take shape, finding its roots on both the land and the sea. As the colonies were settled, the demand for food, labor, and commodities was ever present. These were basic necessities for the formation of a new society and this necessity allowed for those with the necessary means of producing said goods to create profitable businesses. Settlers had ample opportunity to make a profit even within the confines of the new colonies through a variety of means. Specialized craft, regional specialization, comparative advantage, availability of manual labor, jobs in agriculture all

offered the possibility of profit, but the prevalence of newly discovered and desirable commodities found in the new world opened an entirely new expanse of opportunity the sea (Cain, Hughes 28). As new commodities were being discovered, not only in America but elsewhere throughout the world, demand increased for a wider selection of goods, and trade networks began to expand between continents (Morgan, 37). This was paramount to the future development of the world, and with the appearance of trade networks began the formation of chartered companies, monopolies, a larger expanse of business opportunities and, consequently, the emergence of many of the defining components of capitalism in the world today. Businesses that were shipping goods across seas needed ways to minimize risks such as unpredictable weather, damages to goods, possible problems with foreign dealers, the issue of transportation, requirements for available labor (Mathias, 15). The emergence of these new issues drove the developing world toward new solutions rudimentary insurance policies, advancements in transportation, banks for safe holdingmoney and means of dealing with foreign currency and so on. The development of the early American colonies into a trading post connected with the rest of the known world was truly a turning point in the way that the world operated. All these components of capitalism arose not merely due to opportunity but also from necessity. The early colonists found themselves away from home in a place that had to operate vastly differently than the world they had known before, while around them the familiar world was changing as well, making room for an entirely new economic system, a system that become heavily reliant on the production and transportation of new commodities to trade networks around the world.

In the 17th and 18th century many new commodities were presenting themselves as goods of paramount importance, especially major cash crops such as rice, cotton, coffee. But the humble little tobacco weed, a plant that had been growing in popularity and establishing itself as a permanent part of society long before its recognition in the New World as the crop that would become the salvation of Virginia, is a truly intriguing commodity, given the controversy that surrounded it for years prior to and following its establishment in the world trade networks. In the 17th and 18th century, many commodities were presenting themselves as goods of paramount importance, especially the major cash crops such as rice, cotton, sugar and coffee, but the humble little tobacco weed, a plant that had been growing in popularity and establishing itself as a permanent part of society long before its recognition in the New World, is truly intriguing given the controversy that surrounded it for years prior to and following its establishment in the world trade networks and its cultivation in the New World as a cash crop that became the salvation of Virginia. Although the cultivation of tobacco in Jamestown was a pivotal turning point in the history of the commodity, tobacco was popular throughout the globe prior to the 17th century and its established popularity was of utmost importance to its later success and its importance in the context of a developing capitalist society. At the start of the 17th century, tobacco use was already common around the world. While it had been a part of European society since the 16th century, it was strongly opposed by King James I to such an extent that in 1604 he published a pamphlet opposing the weed titled A Counterblast to Tobacco, (Borio, Tobacco Timeline: The 17th Century). King James was not the only one opposed to the weed, either. Throughout

the 17th century, tobacco received a multitude of bans and restrictions passed by countries throughout the world. In the year 1612, China forbade the planting and use of tobacco, and from 1613-1689, Russia enforced a prohibition on tobacco. In 1617 the emperor of Mongolia decreed that tobacco use would result in the death penalty, and 1620 brought with it the prohibition of tobacco in Japan. 1620 also marked the prohibition of its growth in Britain, as well as restricted importation allowances (Borio, Tobacco Time: The 17th Century). Nonetheless, despite a widespread disapproval of tobacco production and practices, the weed was still continuing to increase in popularity, not only
A Counterblaste to Tobacco written by King James I in 1604. Special Collections, Library of Virginia, Richmond. Virginia Memory.

because of the belief that tobacco had many medicinal uses, but also due to the simple matter of nicotines addictive properties. And so, regardless of the enormous

amount of prohibitions and bans that threatened the use of tobacco and the varying groups of people who remained stubbornly opposed to the weed, it was continuing to spread as its reputation increased and further uses were hypothesized, among these being its value for a variety of medicinal purposes, including the belief that it raised vitality, minimized the need for food and sleep, and could be used to ward of diseases such as the Great Plague. As far back as the 16th century, literature was being published on tobaccos healing possibilities. Doctor Nicolas Monardes was one of many who helped tobaccos reputation by publishing a pamphlet on its healing properties concerning a multitude of issues, including griefs of the breast rottenness at the mouth, and for them that are short of wind, as well as a number of other ailments such as parasites, poison, kidney stones, and animal bites (Gately, 40, 41). Although its medicinal uses were one justification for the rapidly widespread use of tobacco, the other, simpler reason was for pleasure. Some referred to the tobacco use as dry drinking, as most Englishmen preferred to stupefaction to health, and the simple answer to Why smoke? would have been For pleasure (Gately, 47). The tobacco craze continued to rise and evolve around the globe long before its impact on Jamestown, all the while earning a reputation that would ultimately allow for Virginias entry into the global economy. All the while that England, and indeed the whole of Europe, is involved in their own affairs, attempts at settling the New World were failing terribly, and little attention was being paid to establishing successful settlements, despite the arguments of Francis Drake, Sir Walter Ralegh, and indeed every other Englishmen

who had made his way to the New World, that it was in the national interest to establish some sort of presence there (Gately, 53). Unfortunately, they failed to arouse much interest in the New World, and even devices such as Thomas Harriots brochure A Brief and True Report of the New Founde Lande of Virginia commissioned by Sir Walter Ralegh near the end of the 1500s, did little for the New Worlds reputation, as those who did travel there quickly realized that the reality fell short of the promise (Gately, 53, 54). Virginias first stroke of fortune finally came about in the early 1600s, when more money was available, as well as better ships and more experienced crews, and the general opinion of the New World in England finally shifted. The New World suddenly seemed something exciting (Gately, 69). Furthermore, the Virginia Company was formed in 1606, originally with aims to deal with wines, olive oil, silk, and metals (Gately, 69, 70). Although tobacco was not included in the original plan, it would not be long before tobaccos value was recognized. Unbeknownst at the time, the establishment of tobaccos popularity around the globe and the founding the Virginia Company at this point in history were vital contributing factors to Virginias role in the global economy. Nevertheless, the beginning of the 17th century marked a significant turn of events as the cultivation of tobacco saved the settlement of Jamestown from a fate already suffered by Englands previous two previous attempts at colonization, the failed settlements of Chesapeake and Roanoke. 1612: Enter Nicotiana tabacum, a strain of Trinidadian tobacco planted by colonist John Rolfe and blended, cured, and experimented to perfection to create a

flavor, which quickly gave it precedence in the English market, (Gately, 72). Tobacco exploded in the following years, met generously with financial aid and continuously increasing demands. Finally, the promise of the New Worlds potential was realized. Although the years following the initial cultivation of tobacco in Jamestown as a cash crop would be met with a multitude of other hardships and tragedies, natural disaster, intensive labor requirements and the terrible atrocity of slave labor not being the least of these, tobacco was there to stay, its value only increasing from thereon out. The discovery that tobacco could be successfully grown and profitably sold was the most momentous single fact in the first century of settlement on the Chesapeake Bay Tobacco had guaranteed that the Jamestown experiment would not fail, (Gately, 72, 73). Because of the popularity of Rolfes strain of tobacco in Europe and its exponentially increasing demand, Virginia suddenly became a place of importance, and so naturally it becomes in Englands best interest to take notice of Virginias potential. Therefore, in the years following tobaccos establishment in Virginia, many important acts and movement take place, marking tobaccos importance to the worlds economy. Only a few years after tobaccos establishment in Virginia, the first African slaves are brought to Jamestown in the year of 1619. This same year, testifying to its significance, tobacco is so valuable that it becomes a widely accepted currency, and continues to be so for the next two hundred years (Hanna, Agricultural Cooperation in Tobacco). Following its initial success in 1612 tobaccos significance to the New World shifted from something minimal to something that demanded the attention of England and the formation of organizations and assemblies for the specific purpose of regulating

tobacco growth and usage. In 1619 the first Legislative Assembly is held in America in order to discusses tobacco prices, resulting in a minimum price per pound of three shillings and in 1624, England declares a royal monopoly on tobacco. Although tobacco has been used as legal currency since 1619, nearly a century later in the year 1727, tobacco notes are established as a form of legal tender in Virginia. Much the same as present-day currency, tobacco notes told the quality and quantity of the tobacco a person had stored in warehouses, and these notes continued to be used throughout the 18th century. Thee years later, legislative acts were brought about to regulate the quality of tobacco being sold. This same year brought rise to the first American tobacco factories in Virginia (Borio, Tobacco Timeline: The Eighteenth Century). Tobacco became such an important cash crop to Virginia that it necessitated the need for many primitive forms components that evolved into the modern-day componants of a capitalist society.

References

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