22. _Some Notes on Shipping and Shipbuilding in Colonial Virginia._ By Cerinda W. Evans. 23. _A Pictorial Booklet on Early Jamestown Commodities and Industries._ By J. Paul Hudson. Price 50c Each PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA GARRETT and MASSIE, INC., Selling Agent, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA * * * * * TOBACCO IN COLONIAL VIRGINIA "The Sovereign Remedy" by MELVIN HERNDON Virginia 350th Anniversary Celebration Corporation Williamsburg, Virginia 1957 Copyright(C), 1957 by Virginia 350th Anniversary Celebration Corporation, Williamsburg, Virginia Jamestown 350th Anniversary Historical Booklet, Number 20 TOBACCO IN COLONIAL VIRGINIA "The Sovereign Remedy" Tobacco was probably first brought to the shores of England from Florida by Sir John Hawkins in 1565. Englishmen were growing it by the 1570's, and after the return of the daring Sir Francis Drake to England with a large quantity of tobacco captured in the West Indies in 1586, the use of tobacco in England was increased substantially. By 1604 its consumption had become so extensive as to lead to the publication of King James' _Counter Blast_, condemning the use of tobacco; nevertheless, six years later the amount brought into Great Britain was valued at L60,000. Some of the colonists were probably acquainted with tobacco before they landed at Jamestown and found the Indians cultivating and using it under the name of uppowoc or apooke. However, it was not until 1612 that its cultivation began among the English settlers, even in small patches. Previously their attention had been centered entirely on products that could be used for food. Captain John Smith wrote that none of the native crops were planted at first, not even tobacco. The story of tobacco in Virginia begins with the ingenious John Rolfe. He was one of the many Englishmen who had come to enjoy the fragrant aroma and taste of the imported Spanish tobacco; and upon his arrival at Jamestown in May, 1610, Rolfe found that tobacco could be obtained only by buying it from the Indians, or by cultivating it. There seems to have been no spontaneous growth then as now. Owing to the frequent unfriendly atmosphere between the colonists and the Indians, Rolfe probably decided to grow a small patch for his own use. He also had a desire to find some profitable commodity that could be sold in England and thus promote the success and prosperity of the settlers and the London Company. Driven by these two motives John Rolfe became the first colonist to successfully grow tobacco, the plant that was to wield such a tremendous influence on the history of Virginia.