Having the warmest climate out of all colonies, Virginia had the greatest spread of diseases than colder settlements in the northern colonies. Virginia was one of the most successful colonies for being rich in tobacco and to the people, it was like gold to them. But Virginia has experienced hardships that led to fruitful and productive aftermaths. The Colony of Virginia has also substantially benefited its economy from its large growths of tobacco crops. Virginia was one of the most successful colonies because of its a profitable economy, a colonial government, and settlers who benefited Virginia and caused problems in the colony.
The Colony of Virginia life relied on the large abundance of tobacco production. Tobacco growth changed Virginia’s way of life entirely. And this economic growth was credited to a man named John Rolfe. John Rolfe was a “Virginia planter and colonial official who was the husband of Pocahontas, daughter of the Indian chief Powhatan” (John Rolfe). John Rolfe believed that Virginia could be an excellent area for tobacco to be grown. But after he failed to prove that Virginia was a perfect a settlement to plant tobacco, smokers repudiated him. Yet, Rolfe decided to import tobacco seeds from the West Indies. Those seeds led to mass production of tobacco and an economic growth in their economy. But after planting so much tobacco, it became a struggle because planting so many crops of tobacco caused the drain of nutrients from sites with fertile soil. Settlers of Virginia waited three years but could not wait any longer so they began to plant tobacco on sidewalks, streets and surprisingly, cemeteries.“Because tobacco cultivation is labor intensive, more settlers were needed” (The Growth of Tobacco Trade). This problem was solved by bringing indentured servants and after working for five to seven years, they were later released and granted with their freedom, land, and seeds.
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“The first colonial legislature was the Virginia House of Burgesses” (ushistory.org). The Virginia House of Burgesses was the first legislative house of Virginia which helped convey the American Revolutionary War. It also approved of the law which made African workers slaves fo their entire lives. After a militarized government took over, the colony of Virginia began to form The Virginia General Assembly. This assembly was ordered from The Virginia Company of London. The purpose of the General Assembly was to allow settlers the opportunity to engage in the participation of their own authority. It also led to the Virginia Colony having a good relationship with the Powhatan Indians. When The General Assembly was formed, it did not only grant settlers their authority to govern, it also led to the end of a militarized government. Due to the end of the military-style government, a newly elected community was created granting “the rule of law and permission of the governed” (The First General Assembly). Today, The General Assembly is still a governing body and has spread throughout North America.
John Smith was a colonial governor and an explorer who settled the settlement of Jamestown. Jamestown was “the first permanent British North American Colony” (John Smith). When John Smith and other settlers were settling the soon to be Jamestown, they did not know it was already settled by Native American tribes. Out of all of John Smith’s contact with many tribes, Powhatan, the Chief of the Powhatan, was the most important person John Smith had ever encounter. When John Smith was kidnapped by the Powhatans, he arranged a union which helped The Colony Of Virginia by trading with American Indians. The Powhatans traded food, furs, and offered new crops such as tobacco. In exchange, John Smith and the English settlers gave tools, pots, and guns. But after John Smith’s following bartering with other tribes, the alliance between the Powhatans, John Smith and the English settlers broke. This collapse caused many susceptible conflicts between the Powhatans and the settlers of Jamestown. The Powhatans soon realized that the English settlement was growing so they began to see them as intruders that would invade and take their land.
The Colony of Virginia was and is still an extraordinary historical settlement. The colony had to overcome many conflicts and hardship throughout their leadership. But the colony was also very successful. Virginia was considered one of the most beneficial colonies due to the fact of its money-making economy of vast tobacco crops, being a legislative government which granted self-government, and lastly the colony’s beneficial and problematic neighbors, the Powhatans, who broke the union between the colony and the American Indian tribe. This colony has faced agricultural factors and environmental factors and is still standing today as a successful and colony.
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