John Rolfe and Tobacco

How did John Rolfe's business affect Jamestown?

While the Pilgrims were getting more and more unhappy about their lives back in Europe, the Jamestown colony in Virginia was thriving. This was greatly due to the efforts of John Rolfe, who had married Pocahontas.

Rolfe had become very interested in growing tobacco, and he was able to get special seeds from the West Indies for a type of tobacco that was better than the tobacco that the Native Americans had been growing. He probably got some help from Pocahontas in developing new ways to grow and cure the tobacco, as the Native American women were responsible for producing the tribe's tobacco.

Rolfe's tobacco business began growing, and he and Pocahontas traveled to England to try to develop the business even more. Tragically, Pocahontas died during this trip.

Rolfe returned to Jamestown after the death of his wife and because of this he became even more involved in the growing and selling of tobacco. Tobacco became very popular in England, which led Jamestown to prosper. In fact, stories say that tobacco was grown right on the streets of the town. A law had to be made to force landowners to grow food crops along with the tobacco so there would be enough food!