The Virginia Colony economy was built on a single crop. Tobacco paid for land, labor, taxes and imported goods, and it shaped where colonists settled.
Quick answer: The Virginia Colony economy depended on tobacco. John Rolfe was growing a Spanish strain by July 1612, and exports grew from about 20,000 pounds in 1617 to 22 million pounds in 1700. Tobacco served as money, land was granted through headrights, and the work was done first by indentured servants and later by enslaved Africans.
Contents
The Start of Tobacco
John Rolfe obtained seeds of a Spanish tobacco and was growing Nicotiana tabacum by July 1612. Samples reached England in July 1613.[1] The new crop made the settlement profitable and became the cash crop of the Virginia Company.[2]
Growth of the Crop
| Year | Tobacco shipped or produced |
|---|---|
| 1617 | About 20,000 pounds shipped |
| 1618 | Roughly double the 1617 amount |
| 1622 | About 60,000 pounds |
| 1688 | About 18 million pounds; prices fell to a penny a pound |
| 1700 | 22 million pounds shipped |
| 1709 | Record crop of 29 million pounds |
| 1731 | 34 million pounds |
Source for the table: Encyclopedia Virginia.[1]
Planting spread first along about 140 miles of the James River, then to the York, Rappahannock and Potomac rivers, and into the Piedmont by 1720. Repeated crops wore out the soil near Jamestown; a law of 1632 limited each settler to 1,500 plants, and planters moved on to new land.[1]
Tobacco as Money
Tobacco took the place of coins. Promissory notes payable in tobacco circulated as money, and prices were quoted in pounds of tobacco.[1]
The Inspection Act of 1730, passed under Governor William Gooch, required inspectors at public warehouses and the burning of defective leaf. Tobacco notes issued under the law served as legal currency until the French and Indian War (1754-1763).[1]
Land and Labor
Under the headright system, a planter received 50 acres for each person whose passage across the Atlantic he paid.[1]
Indentured servants did most of the early work. By 1700 enslaved Africans outnumbered white indentured servants, and an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 Africans were brought to Virginia between 1698 and 1774.[1] The first documented Africans had arrived in 1619 to work in the tobacco fields.[2]
Frequently asked questions
What was the main crop of the Virginia Colony economy? Tobacco, grown for export to England.
Who started growing tobacco in Virginia? John Rolfe, who was growing a Spanish strain by July 1612.
Was tobacco used as money in colonial Virginia? Yes. Notes payable in tobacco circulated as money, and prices were quoted in pounds of tobacco.
What was the headright system? A grant of 50 acres for each person whose passage to Virginia a planter paid.
References
- [1] Encyclopedia Virginia (Virginia Humanities), Emily Jones Salmon and John Salmon, Tobacco in Colonial Virginia – last checked 11/08/2026
- [2] National Park Service, Historic Jamestowne: A Short History of Jamestown – last checked 11/08/2026
The rise of the colony is summarized in The Virginia Colony: Overview.