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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781683509097 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Morgan James Publishing |
| Publication date: | 10/16/2018 |
| Pages: | 546 |
| Sales rank: | 288,070 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.40(d) |
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CHAPTER 1
Virginia
Founded as a colony in 1607 by John Smith and John Rolfe State on June 25, 1788
The First Colony
As England was becoming a world power under Queen Elizabeth in the last half of the 16 century, it increasingly explored new trade routes to the Far East and the Americas. They were not alone as Spain and France were doing the same in an effort to claim new found lands as their own. Sir Walter Raleigh organized (but did not participate in) an expedition to Roanoke in 1584. He reported to Queen Elizabeth I that he had founded land that was ruled over by a Native American king by the name of "Wingina." The queen supposedly modified the name to "Virginia" in recognition of her being known as the "Virgin Queen." In 1606, a group of investors in England formed a joint stock company to explore Virginia and obtained a corporate charter from King James I. The ships Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery were led by John Smith, John Rolfe, and Christopher Newport with 105 passengers and 39 crew. They entered the Chesapeake Bay in May of 1607 and sailed up a body of water they named James River to honor King James I. Selecting a protected location they built a fortified settlement and called it Jamestown. The venture was strictly a commercial one even though one of their first projects was to build a church. Jamestown was to become the first permanent English settlement in the Americas.
That summer Christopher Newport returned to England with two ships, and those remaining in Jamestown sustained hardships of hunger and illness and the fear of attack from local Algonquian tribes. Relations between the settlers and the Natives were tense at first but did improve when John Smith established trade guidelines between them. Algonquian chief, Powhatan, and Smith managed to control relations, but skirmishes still occurred. In 1609, Smith returned to England, but without his presence the settlers were in a precarious position and continued to suffer illness and mounting deaths. In the spring of 1610, just as the remaining settlers were preparing to abandon Jamestown, two ships arrived with supplies, 150 new immigrants, and a new governor, Lord De La Warr. The governor soon fell sick and had to return home but was replaced by Sir Thomas Gates and Sir Thomas Dale who introduced laws that were designed to improve relations with the Algonquians. However, more raids led to the burning of crops and houses which led to more killings. Conditions improved by 1614 when John Rolfe married Chief Powhatan's daughter, Pocahontas. It was Rolfe who saved the settlement when he developed a special blend of tobacco from seeds gathered in the West Indies. After a few years of experimentation, he created a tobacco that became wildly popular in England and Europe and soon became the most successful export from the colonies. At last, the settlers found the gold they were looking for, but it was in the form of a cured tobacco leaf.
In 1619, the colony organized the first representative government in America. A General Assembly was elected by male landowners. That same year around 50 men, women, and children were brought to Jamestown having come from a Portuguese slave ship that was captured in the West Indies. They were hired to work as indentured servants, but were not treated as slaves as the institution of slavery occurred around 1680.
Origin of the Tobacco Trade
The primary objective of the Virginia Company for its investment in the colony of Virginia was to develop a source for commodities that could replace the necessities England was buying from other countries. By importing goods from her colonies, England would be reducing her imports from abroad and improving her balance of trade in an age of competitive mercantilism. The Company hoped Virginia would produce lumber, wine, skins, fish and herbs, and other staples, but these could not be produced on a profitable scale so the Company faltered economically and came very close to dissolving within the first 10 years of its Jamestown settlement in 1607. In 1612 one of Capt. John Smith's principal assistants, John Rolfe, discovered that tobacco grew well in Virginia's warm and humid climate, and even though the initial shipments of the local leaf were found to be bitter and un-salable in England, he experimented with imported seeds from Trinidad and Venezuela which produced a sweet-scented leaf. The favorable reception to the new product created a veritable "gold rush" in Virginia where tobacco seeds were planted in every possible clearing including the interior of the local fort. In 1616, 11 commodities were sent to England, but by 1619, they were entirely replaced by tobacco and a small amount of sassafras. Ironically, the Virginia Company did not condone this one-product economy, and even King Charles I was outspoken in his criticism of the popular "deceivable weed" which provided no usefulness to the needs of his subjects. The Virginia Company was unsuccessful in raising investment capital for the establishment of fishing, glass, iron, lumber, and shipbuilding industries, so they resorted to lotteries for funds which were so successful that in 1621, the Privy Council deprived the Company of its rights to hold lotteries on the grounds that they were undermining useful trade and industries. This was followed in 1622 by Indian massacres of 400 of the 1240 Jamestown settlers which finally led to the dissolution of the Virginia Company by the Crown in 1624. This, in turn, gave rise to the dramatic development of the Virginia tobacco trade which exported 60,000 pounds of tobacco in 1622, 500,000 pounds in 1628, and 1,500,000 pounds in 1639. By the end of the 1600's, Virginia and Maryland production reached 20,000,000 pounds annually, and by 1775 it exceeded 100,000,000 pounds which was equivalent to 75 percent of the total value of all commodities exported from the Chesapeake colonies. Tobacco proved to be easy to grow with minimum labor and production costs. Its use for pipe smoking and snuff created a fad among the British gentry, thereby demanding forced ever-higher market prices. Its growth was considered one of the easiest and quickest ways of realizing income and possible wealth especially if one could obtain land grants of sufficient size for producing large crops. It was during the early 1600's that George Washington's great-grandfather, John Washington, learned the workings of the tobacco trade while employed in a London counting house, and it was the lure of profitable trade that attracted him to enter the trans-Atlantic trade with America and particularly the export of tobacco to England and its re- export to the Continent.
Growth and the Export Trade
With the rapid commercial success of tobacco, the English authorities soon gave their support because it brought significant income to the royal treasury through imposed duties. The vast quantities of imported tobacco also helped England's balance of trade and reduced her dependence on tobacco from Spain with whom it had an unfavorable balance of trade. In fact, the colonial imports were so great that the surplus allowed the re-export of tobacco from England to Europe and several other foreign markets, improving her export balances even more. However, the fascinating aspect to this entirely new colonial commercial endeavor was the impact it had on the political relationship between England and the colonies. During the early years of Virginia's settlement, there was no official British colonial policy regarding their administration. The success of tobacco prompted England to change that situation whereby Virginia was regarded as outside the fiscal limits of England and therefore subject to customs duties. Also, Virginia was required to export solely to England and was forbidden to trade directly with foreign countries. In return, the planting of tobacco in England was forbidden after 1619 and in 1624 foreign ships were denied trade with Virginia. Thereafter followed the Navigation Acts of 1650, 1660, 1663, and 1696 — all of which were intended to secure revenue to the royal treasury. These measures were later extended to include most commodities from all the colonies which proved to be one of the principal contentious issues by 1775.
As the tobacco trade exploded it became a very significant source of revenue for the Crown growing from L 130,000 in 1689 to L 330,000 in 1775. Custom duties rose from two pence per pound in 1660 to over eight pence per pound by 1758. However, the policy of granting drawbacks on these duties from re-exportation saved the colonies considerable revenues. From 1660 to 1723, the re-export trade from England to other foreign markets was so great that the drawbacks resulted in net duty payments of only a half penny per pound. As colonial production continued to increase so did the re-export market, and after 1723 the entire duties were refunded. By 1700, two-thirds of the tobacco imported into England was re- exported to Germany, Holland, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Russia, and the Baltic states, as well as the Turkish and African markets. The Dutch market took half of all English re-exports in the 1600's and over one-third in the 1700's. British merchants would send shiploads of tobacco to Amsterdam and Rotterdam to be sold on commission for British owners when prices were good. Frequently, the Dutch extended credit on more favorable terms than available in London while they waited for the market to improve. Both small and large British merchants could easily access this market. By 1750, total re-exports amounted to 75 percent, and by 1775 they reached 83 percent in England and 98 percent in Scotland. This meant that of the 100,000,000 pounds exported to England by 1775, only 10,000,000 pounds incurred a duty, and because of its popular use the merchants were able to pass the cost of duties on to the consumer with higher prices. The Crown granted further concessions to the colonies with delayed duty payments of 18 months, a 10 percent discount for payments in "ready money," and another 4 percent discount allowance for waste and decay. Also, a time limit for re-exportation was extended to 1 year, thereby allowing the importer to first try a sale in England and if unsuccessful then a re-export sale to foreign markets without losing the benefit of the drawback. The net effect of the British policy regarding the tobacco trade was to maintain high duties on English consumption and remove barriers to trade with foreign markets which generated further development of the re-export trade. The growth of the tobacco trade during the 17 and 18 centuries was so strong and secure that tobacco became a principal means of exchange. Almost everything could be paid for in tobacco including the purchase of wives in the 1620's for 120 pounds of the "finest leaf" to wages of soldiers to salaries of ministers. Even marriage services went for 200 pounds of tobacco while 100 pounds was the price for a funeral service. When the crops failed in 1758, the Virginia Assembly voted that ministers be paid in money instead of tobacco. The clergy was so upset with this they sent an agent to England where it was repealed.
Another important aspect of the tobacco market was the revenue it produced for the colonial governments of Virginia and Maryland. These amounted to L 3,000 for Virginia in 1680 and L 6,000 per annum in the 1758-62 period. Maryland received L 2,500 in 1700 to around L 3,000 annually by 1775. Another "Plantation Duty" of a penny per pound was granted for exports from Virginia and Maryland to other British colonies, but by 1693 it had produced so little income due to inefficiencies that the duty was granted to the College of William and Mary. The College tried to reduce the costs of collections, but by 1740 it received only L 200. While colonial production of tobacco increased dramatically from the early 1600's to the eve of the American Revolution, it was subject to wars, intermittent years of crop failures and abundance, price fluctuations, quality control, and regulation. Often these problems were interrelated such as low prices in 1660 which led to the shipping of "trash tobacco" which led to regulations on quality. Overproduction led to falling prices which led to regulations controlling the size of the plants, cultivation dates, prohibiting shipments of bulk tobacco, and fixing the size of hogsheads of tobacco. In 1663, 1666, and 1681 tobacco planting was actually banned, but this required approval of several colonies and was rejected by the Commissioners of Customs. In 1666, the bumper crop depressed prices in London, and this was exasperated by the recent plague which had so demoralized the country that no tobacco fleet had sailed to the colonies in 1665. The market rebounded in 1667 following a devastating storm that destroyed about 80 percent of the Virginia crop. In 1677, the record Virginia crop was equivalent to three normal years of production, and the glut caused tobacco to become nearly worthless. In 1680, Lord Culpeper of Virginia told the British authorities that continuing low prices would be fatal to the Colony. In 1682, plant-cutting riots occurred in several Virginia tidewater counties which reduced production that year by 10,000,000 pounds. The positive aspect to overproduction was the re-export trade and the opening of more foreign markets. The War of the Spanish Succession in 1702 and then the War of the Austrian Succession only temporarily disturbed the tobacco trade. In fact, the tobacco trade had become so important to England and France that during the Seven Years' War from 1756 to 1763, they had an informal agreement that British ships carrying tobacco to France were exempt from capture. Tobacco even played a role in financing the American Revolution when Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane negotiated the sale of 5,000,000 pounds of tobacco to the French monopolists in return for the purchase of French armaments. It is even more startling to consider that between 1689 and 1815, France and Great Britain fought seven major wars, and yet during this period they continued to develop an expanding trade in tobacco. France became one of the largest purchasers of American tobacco for their own consumption and for the re- exports to western Europe and the East.
The Traders and Planters
Although the Virginia Company initially controlled the tobacco trade in Virginia, their charters of 1606 and 1609 allowed private traders to participate upon appropriate fees paid to them. By 1620, the Company's attempt to monopolize the trade failed so they opened up trading to everyone which meant that private traders arrived at unspecified times going from plantation to plantation collecting cargoes. The planter was at a distinct disadvantage because he not only didn't know if or when the ships would arrive at his particular plantation, but he had to rely on the ship's captain for market information and the prices of the goods he offered thereby lessening his basis for negotiating the best terms. The captain was also at risk because he sailed without knowing what cargo he could get and incurred expenses going from place to place looking for it. He usually had to extend credit to unknown planters and then returned to England hoping to find a buyer at an acceptable price before the tobacco deteriorated. Competition and the Crown's practice of sending larger fleets improved the planter's position, but it made the private trader's role more precarious. As the market developed, merchants in London began to specialize in certain markets so we hear of "Virginia merchants" being separate from "Carolina merchants." These specialists developed a close working relationship between the British and foreign markets, and they became a significant force in shaping Parliament's policies on the tobacco trade.
The Revolutionary War
Virginia was perhaps the most critical colony in the cause for independence. When the British retaliated against the Boston Tea Party and unrest in Massachusetts, they passed the Boston Port Act in March of 1774. This effectively blocked all trade in an attempt to starve the Bostonians into submission. John Adams and other local leaders were not all sure if other colonies would support their opposition to Parliament. It was Virginia's House of Burgesses that responded by announcing a "Day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer" for their Massachusetts countrymen for June 1, 1774. They viewed the Port Act as an attack against all the colonies. Governor Dunmore immediately dissolved Burgesses which led to their proposing the First Continental Congress. This was followed by passage of the Fairfax Resolves which rejected Parliament's claim of authority over the American Colonies. George Mason authored the Resolves together with his neighbor and political protégé, George Washington. Mason then wrote Virginia's Bill of Rights which was one of the key documents used by Thomas Jefferson in writing the Declaration of Independence.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "The Creation of the American States"
by .
Copyright © 2019 A. Ward Burian.
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Table of Contents
Preface,
Introduction,
PART ONE: The Thirteen Original Colonies,
Chapter 1: Virginia,
Chapter 2: New York,
Chapter 3: Massachusetts,
Chapter 4: Maryland,
Chapter 5: Connecticut,
Chapter 6: Rhode Island,
Chapter 7: New Hampshire,
Chapter 8: Delaware,
Chapter 9: North Carolina,
Chapter 10: New Jersey,
Chapter 11: South Carolina,
Chapter 12: Pennsylvania,
Chapter 13: Georgia,
PART TWO: The Additional 37 States In Chronological Order From Territory To Statehood,
Chapter 14: Vermont,
Chapter 15: Kentucky,
Chapter 16: Tennessee,
Chapter 17: Ohio,
Chapter 18: Louisiana,
Chapter 19: Indiana,
Chapter 20: Mississippi,
Chapter 21: Illinois,
Chapter 22: Alabama,
Chapter 23: Maine,
Chapter 24: Missouri,
Chapter 25: Arkansas,
Chapter 26: Michigan,
Chapter 27: Florida,
Chapter 28: Texas,
Chapter 29: Iowa,
Chapter 30: Wisconsin,
Chapter 31: California,
Chapter 32: Minnesota,
Chapter 33: Oregon,
Chapter 34: Kansas,
Chapter 35: West Virginia,
Chapter 36: Nevada,
Chapter 37: Nebraska,
Chapter 38: Colorado,
Chapter 39: North Dakota,
Chapter 40: South Dakota,
Chapter 41: Montana,
Chapter 42: Washington,
Chapter 43: Idaho,
Chapter 44: Wyoming,
Chapter 45: Utah,
Chapter 46: Oklahoma,
Chapter 47: New Mexico,
Chapter 48: Arizona,
Chapter 49: Alaska,
Chapter 50: Hawaii,
Epilogue,
Acknowledgments,
About the Author,
Table A: Origin of Original 13 States,
Table B: States by Date of Statehood,
Maps: Territorial and State Maps,
Sources for the Creation of the American States,