John Smith saved the colony from starvation. He told colonists that they must work in order to eat. John Rolfe had the colony plant and harvest tobacco, which became a cash crop and was sold to Europe.

John Rolfe is best remembered for having introduced tobacco as a commercial crop to Virginia colonists. The production of this valuable commodity shaped the future development of the colony and provided an economic incentive for further expansion and settlement of the New World.

Jamestown succeeded economically by planting and selling tobaccos. Later they started planting tobacco plants and became rich by exporting them to England. By the year 1675 Jamestown exported almost ten million pounds of tobacco each year.

Tobacco formed the basis of the colony’s economy: it was used to purchase the indentured servants and slaves to cultivate it, to pay local taxes and tithes, and to buy manufactured goods from England.

Because tobacco drained the soil of its nutrients, only about three successful growing seasons could occur on a plot of land. Then the land had to lie fallow for three years before the soil could be used again. This created a huge drive for new farmland.

Among the mainland colonies, the white southerners were the richest, on average, with about twice the wealth of New England or the Middle Atlantic region. If we include the West Indies as one of the colonial areas, then its thriving sugar industry made it the wealthiest.

Virginia is ranked number one because it was the wealthiest, most populated and most influential of the 13 original colonies.

Virginia: The Original and Best Colony To Live.

The Virginia Colony, The most powerful.

There are 61 colonies or territories in the world. Eight countries maintain them: Australia (6), Denmark (2), Netherlands (2), France (16), New Zealand (3), Norway (3), the United Kingdom (15), and the United States (14).