Virginia Colony Research Paper

Words: 1095
Pages: 5
Open Document
In the late 1590’s a group of men formed a colonizing company, the Virginia Company, with the intention of generating wealth. In May of 1607, the Virginia Company’s first expedition arrived in Jamestown, the first community in the Virginia Colony. In the early years of the new colony slavery was not a dominant characteristic. Throughout the 1600’s, Virginia slowly became a colony that was dominated by slave labor due to the invention of the tobacco that could grow in the Virginia Colony, recently freed indentured servants getting land which lead to the tobacco boom, and the drop in the price of tobacco afterwards and the need for cheaper labor as a result of that. In 1616, a man by the name of John Rolfe began tinkering with a strain …show more content…
Prior to the discovery of this new tobacco strain, the population of Jamestown lied at just about 350 people, but by 1650 the population stood at 13,000. A large majority of these people were indentured servants. Indentured servants were primarily the lower sort that were unable to afford to come to America, so a wealthy farmer would pay their way. These indentured servants would be indebted to the farmer that paid for them to be shipped to the colony and as a form of repayment, they were under contract to work for that farmer for four to seven years. The contract made these indentured servants the equivalent to property, they could be bought and sold and had little to no rights. However, the driving force of these indentured servants was the promise of fifty acres when their freedom was granted and the chance to begin growing and selling tobacco on their own and making a large profit from doing …show more content…
Between 1607 and 1700, 120,000 immigrants came to Virginia. The increase in the amount of indentured servants meant more people were getting land and growing and selling tobacco on that land and from 1620 to 1660 there was a tobacco boom.
After 1660, however, the colony reached a point where there were too many people growing tobacco, and there is too much tobacco on the market so prices decreased drastically. The price for tobacco is below the break-even point each year so people are not making a profit. This was especially detrimental to the recently freed indentured servants, or common planters. Economic frustration set in.
By the mid-1670s, it’s clear the “good days to come” of being an indentured servant is over. The recently freed indentured servants were economically struggling and were no longer motivating the English lower sort with the positives of coming to the colony. As a result, there was no longer a drive for the lower sort to come work in Virginia, but the farmers still needed
Show More

Related Documents: Virginia Colony Research Paper

Jamestown Project book review Essay

the New World, one hundred years behind they’re enemy’s the Spain. This paper will analyze Kupperman’s article with arguments, viewpoints, and examples to express the reason on how Jamestown survived through trial and error to stay a colony today. This book will surprise readers looking to delve immediately into the adventures of Captain John Smith and the other English settlers as they struggle to establish a viable colony and interact with the local Native Americans such as Powhatan and his famous…

Words 1221 - Pages 5

Essay about Thirteen Colonies

6,800,000개 중 2페이지 (0.23초) 검색결과 The Southern Colonies: Settlement and Growth ... - Education Portal ► 8:45► 8:45 education-portal.com/.../the-southern-colonies-settle...‎ 2012. 6. 28. What led to the use of slavery and the creation of different colonies? ... Like? The Southern Colonies ... Southern Colonies - The Thirteen Original Colonies original13colonies.weebly.com/southern-colonies.html‎ 이 페이지 번역하기 Much like the mid-Atlantic colonies the soil of the southern region is very fertile…

Words 438 - Pages 2

Informative Essay: Life In The Southern Colonies

For my group’s research paper, we will be explaining life in the Southern Colonies. For the essay portion of the project, I will be in charge of composing the introduction paragraph. The Southern Colonies include the following colonies, Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas (both North Carolina and South Carolina), and Georgia. During the mid-1700s, many colonists decided to move to the Southern Colonies for a variety of reasons. Some decided to move to the South because of the ability to worship freely…

Words 514 - Pages 3

Brainpop Analysis

Independence “In 1776, the 13 american colonies declared they were going to form a new country that is totally independent, or separate, from great britain” ("Declaration of Independence." BrainPOP.) “In 1774, representatives from 12 of the 13 colonies met in the first continental congress” ("Declaration of Independence." BrainPOP.) II. northern colonies- daily life Facts about the colonies “They bought goods from british factories” ("Thirteen Colonies." BrainPOP) “They also kept up on the news…

Words 1363 - Pages 6

Colonial Research Paper

Michael Hermo 10/15/13 Colonial Research Paper In the 13 colonies, the crime and crimes’ punishment was very different from today. The 13 colonies had 3 regions, New England, Middle, and Southern. Religious practices in each region differed greatly. Some religions were more strict then others, and it showed in the way they made laws and wished for people to obey them. The churches reach extended beyond their congregation and into the government of the colony itself. The reason why the justice…

Words 767 - Pages 4

Education In The Southern Colonies

Imani Taylor October 10, 2014 EDUC 316: Monday’s 4:30 pm-7:00 pm Research Paper Education in Colonial America: Education in the Southern Colonies In the 1840's, the development of state funded community education; it was growing in states from Connecticut to Illinois. However, the Southern states did not have a tradition of free education to assemble on, as the North did, in fact it was after the Civil War before the South had state supported schools. Southerners warranted slavery on the foundation…

Words 1897 - Pages 8

The Life And Literature Of A Political Legacy

American Literature. Thomas Jefferson, the main author, emphasized the American colonies’ desire and need for independence. This one piece of historical literature has been an example of leadership and independence for centuries. Jefferson was an eighteenth century American leader whose literary works were inspired by his political career and devotion to the United States of America. Jefferson was born in Shadwell, Virginia, April 13, 1743. At an early age, Jefferson developed a thirst for knowledge…

Words 1449 - Pages 6

Ap World History Dbq Essay

with the working class. He could be very rich and is dealing with someone poorer then him. Most likely, it is that he is upper-class and views the colonists as below him. However, this colors his view of the events taking place. In his mind, the colony does not have the ability to care for itself. This is shown when he was describing how to build the building. He could have told the colonist to build a building to house their sick people. Instead, he is very specific on how to build this building…

Words 1039 - Pages 5

American Revolution Research Paper

American Revolution Research Paper The reason I chose the American Revolution as my topic was mainly because to me I thought it was very relevant subject to speak upon and not many of us have knowledge of how we even became the United States of America. Basically the American Revolution was one of many steps taken to develop our democracy type of government that we do have today. Also it tells about how the original thirteen broke away from the British harsh government taxes. To be honest I chose…

Words 1003 - Pages 5

French and Indian War Research Paper

|2010 | |In 1754, George Washington, a lieutenant colonel, was dispatch to the Ohio Country with an armed force to |French and Indian War Research Paper | |build a fort in present-day Pittsburgh. After arriving he found that the French were already building a | | |fort, Fort Duquesne. Washington ended up building Fort Necessity around the area but that…

Words 1037 - Pages 5