The History of Tobacco in the United States
In 1609,
John Rolfe arrived at
Jamestown, Virginia, and is credited as the first settler to have successfully raised tobacco (commonly referred to at that time as "brown gold")
[14] for commercial use. The tobacco raised in Virginia at that time,
Nicotiana rustica, did not suit European tastes, but Rolfe raised a more popular variety,
Nicotiana tabacum, from seeds brought with him from
Bermuda. Tobacco was used as
currency by the Virginia settlers for years, and Rolfe was able to make his fortune in farming it for export at
Varina Farms Plantation. When he left for
England with his wife,
Pocahontas a daughter of Chief
Powhatan, he had become wealthy. Returning to Jamestown, following Pocahontas' death in England, Rolfe continued in his efforts to improve the quality of commercial tobacco, and, by 1620, 40,000 pounds (18,000 kg) of tobacco were shipped to England. By the time John Rolfe died in 1622, Jamestown was thriving as a producer of tobacco, and its population had topped 4,000. Tobacco led to the importation of the colony's first
black slaves in 1619. In the year 1616, 2,500 pounds (1,100 kg) of tobacco were produced in
Jamestown, Virginia, quickly rising up to 119,000 pounds (54,000 kg) in 1620.
Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, tobacco continued to be the
cash crop of
the Virginia Colony, as well as
The Carolinas. Large tobacco warehouses filled the areas near the wharves of new, thriving towns such as
Dumfries on the
Potomac,
Richmond and
Manchester at the
fall line (
head of navigation) on the
James, and
Petersburg on the
Appomattox.
Until 1883, tobacco excise tax accounted for one third of internal revenue collected by the United States government. Internal Revenue Service data for 1879-80 show total tobacco tax receipts of $38.9 million, out of total receipts of $116.8 million. 'The Republican Campaign Textbook, 1880.' Statistical Tables, P 207.
A historian of the American South in the late 1860s reported on typical usage in the region where it was grown:
[15]
