Virginia and 

 Tobacco 



7 





hen the Elizabeth, Captain Adams 

 master, reached England about July 20, 1613 after a 

 three-weeks' passage from Virginia, she had on board a 

 small consignment of tobacco. The tobacco had been 

 experimentally grown in 1612 on John Rolfe's little farm 

 at Jamestown. 



That consignment— the cream of a first crop— could 

 not have been more than a few hundred pounds. Yet, 

 though the shipment was tiny, the eflPects of that exporta- 

 tion were far-reaching— "of momentous importance," in 

 the opinion of various historians. For the new Virginia 

 leaf met enthusiastic consumer acceptance in a particu- 

 larly rich market. That resulted in the economic salva- 

 tion of the colony, firmly established a British outpost 

 in the New World, and developed a commerce that was 

 long the most valuable in Britain's overseas trade. 



