CHAPTER VII
TOBACCO
How regarded by the Indians. — Tobacco was growing
in America when the first settlers came. The Indians
regarded it as the gift of their Great Spirit, and planted
it in their gardens along with their vegetables. To it
they attributed many wonderful virtues. They threw
tobacco powder into the air in a time of drouth to bring
rain; tossed it upon the water to produce a calm when a
tempest was brewing; and their priests cast it upon the
sacrificial fires to propitiate evil spirits.
Introduced into England. — Ralph Lane and his companions,
who learned to smoke it from the Indians, carried
it to England. Sir Walter Raleigh, speedily becoming
fond of it, introduced it among the nobility, and in a
short time it became popular at the court of Queen Elizabeth.
It is related that, as Sir Walter was sitting in his
library, a servant, who came to bring him some water, saw
smoke issue from his mouth, and hastened to pour the
water over him, thinking that he was on fire. King James
wrote a book against tobacco, and Parliament denounced
it, but its consumption continued to increase in England
till its smoke arose alike in the palace of the prince and in
the cottage of the peasant.
The Foundation of Virginia's Prosperity. — Tobacco became
the foundation of Virginia's prosperity. John Rolfe
began the systematic cultivation of it in 1612, and it
became in a few years the universal crop. In 1617 it was
seen growing in waste places in the streets of Jamestown,
and even in the public squares. As the demand for
tobacco increased, it became the chief source of revenue,
and all other crops were neglected for it. Many persons
of means settled in Virginia in order to raise it. It also
rendered negro labor profitable, and thus encouraged the
traffic in slaves.
Led to a Fondness for Country Life. — The cultivation
of tobacco kept the population scattered. Each planter
desired as large a farm as he could get, for it was discovered
at an early date that tobacco grew most kindly
upon virgin soil. This made it desirable that each plantation
should contain a large area covered with original
forest, so that as soon as the acres under cultivation
became somewhat exhausted, new land could be cleared
and substituted for them. This had a great effect in
shaping the life of the Virginia people, for it tended to
isolate the settlers, thus creating a fondness for the country
and causing city life to be looked upon with little favor.
QUESTIONS
1. How did the Indians regard tobacco?
2. In what ways did they use it?
3. Who first carried tobacco to England?
4. What nobleman made it popular at the court of Queen Elizabeth?
5. What anecdote is told of him?
6. How was tobacco looked upon by King James and Parliament?
7. Who first began a systematic cultivation of tobacco?
8. What was the result of its increased production?
9. How did it encourage slavery?
10. What effect did tobacco have in shaping the lives of the Virginia
people?
