(Term paper written by Fred
?lanes, senior year University of
ttforth Carolina 1940. Bibliography
?omitted due to Lack of space.)
By FRED JONES
Tobacco was first made known to
?Europeans in 1492 when Columbus
?and his fellow adventurers found it
?in cultivation and use by the Indian
? tribes of the West Indies. However,
? there was little interest in the use
? of the plant before the middle of the
? sixteenth century*. The Virginia
? colonists were undoubtedly acquaint
I ed with tobacco before coming to Vir
I gir.ia for it had probably been
I brought to England in 1565 by Haw
I kins. It was growing there as early
I as 1570.
I The English colonists found it in
I use by the Virginia natives, but it
| was poor and weak and had a biting
taste. The colonists before 1612 at
tempted unsuccessfully to grow to
bacco in Virginia from seed im
ported from Trinidad. John Rolfe,
who began, in 1612 to experiment
with its growth, was the true initi
j ator of the tobacco industry. It is
not known where Rolfe obtained his
seed from, but according to all re
ports. he grew some excellent to
bacco. The success-of this new crop
soon became apparent. The first
shipments large profits which served
as a tremendous stimulant to the
industry. In 1616, Sir Thomas Dale
was forced to make a law that each
person plant two acres of corn for
himself and for each servant as a
condition for the raising of tobacco.
The penalty for not obeying was
forfeiture of the crop. Argall, upon
returning to the colony in May, 1617,
found at Jamestown "the market
place, and streets, and all other spare
places planted with Tobacco." From
this time onward, the industry rapid
ly expanded because of the - high
prices. The crop of 1618 amounted
to 20.000 pounds, that of 1622
amounted to 60,000 pounds, and that
of 1627 amounted to 500,000 pounds.
Two types of regulation of tobacco
were prevalent until the dissolution
o: the London Company in 1624:
the first was intended to control
production and regulate quality; the
second was concerned mainly with
the tobacco trade. However, there
is no clear-cut distinction between
the two types of regulation as far
as the source of regulation is con
cerned because most of the early
rules arid laws emenated from either
the Company or the Crown.
The first legislative assembly of
Virginia which met in 1619 required
":ha: every planter produce one ex-l
:ra barrel of corn, and fo set out six
mulbery trees each year for a period
of seven years." Provision was
made to inspect all tobacco offered
for sale and any that did not come
up :o specifications was burned in
the presence of the owner.
In 1621, Governor Francis Wyatt
was instructed not to permit a
planter to produce more than one
hundred pounds of tobacco and to,
have them plant great quantities of
corn for their own use. Efforts to
limit the planting of tobacco were
rot successful during the first years
the Assembly, however. From
'"21 to 1628, the price of tobacco
steadily declined chiefly because of
the huge crops produced in the col
lides. By 1629, charges were so
high and the price so low that it was
not worth exporting. In 1630, Gov
ernor Harvey complained to the
Privy "Council "that merchants were
buying tobacco for less than one
pence a pound; while they were
charging twelve shillings a ton for
freight to England." -The Governor
had previously, 1628, issued a pro
clamation requiring that tobacco
plants should be set at least four
and one-half feet apart, and not more
than twelve leaves could be harvest
ed from each stalk in order to de
crease production and thereby raise
prices.
The Virginia Assembly passed a
law in 1632 which was more restric
tive than any previous one. No per
son was permitted to set out more
than two thousand plants. Only nine
leaves were to be gathered from
each plant! Each planter was tc
get a neighbor to count the tobaccc
plants and was then to report the
number which he had counted to somt
local official. In 1633, the numbei
of plants was reduced from twc
thousand to fifteen hundred per per
son.
Tobacco prices were so low tha
it took fifty or sixty pounds to par
chase a pair of shoes. The planter
were almost constantly in debt tt
the English merchants who charge*
them exorbitant prices for commodi
ties sent over from England. As i
result, the Virginians mhde man;
efforts to control the price of to
bacco. In 1633, the Virginia As
sembly set the price at nine pence i
pound . In 1639, price fixing by lin
was attempted again. All creditor
were forced to take forty pound
of tobacco as payment for each ban
dred pounds that was due their
These laws seem to have had littt
effect since the quanity was no
greatly lessened nor was the pric
actually increased The quality c
the tobacco was greatly improved b
the inspection system, however. Th
laws stiwriliiit production kept *Ji
planters from planting on sob-mai
ginal Surds and forced than int
The methods used in the roWvi
tion of tobacco or/the sources of the
seed during the first few years are
not known. More than likely, this*
was an experimental period. In the
early years, the colonists threw the
tobacco in piles, covering it with
marsh hay and allowed it to sweat.
In 1619, a Mr. Lambert introduced
the method of curing tobacco by
hanging on lines, instead of sun cur
ing in piles.
No fertilizer was used to aid in
the cultivation of this rapidly ex
panding crop, and the rich bottom
lands of Virginia were soon exhaust
ed. As a result, tobacco culture
tended towards the rich bottom j
lands of North Carolina. Too, the
coming of slaves to Virginia drove 1
many of the small planters away.
The rich lands and the mild climate
was the positive factor which tended
to bring Virginia planters to North
Carolina.
Very few records have been left 1
dealing with the extent of tobacco '
production in North Carolina during
the early period of settlement. Most 1
of Albemarle's tobacco went through <
the Virginia ports and was sold to
the world as "Virginia Brights."
However, it is known that. tobacco i
culture in North Carolina was firm
ly established before 1700. The qual- ;
ity and yield of North Carolina to
bacco was superior to that grown in 1
Virginia. There were several ob- ?
structions to tobacco culture in North
Carolina, however. Lack of labor (
and tools kept the first settlers of
North Carolina from producing any
surplus.
Nevertheless, -North Carolina was
soon engaging In vigorous competi
tion with Virginia tobacco. As early
as 1664, the Virginia Assembly at
tempted to sign an agreement with 1
Maryland and North Carolina for
cessation of the tobacco culture from i
February 1, 1666 to February 1, 1667. 1
This compact was passed by the :
North Carolina Assembly, but the
Maryland planters would not agree. '
Virginia first placed a tariff on to
bacco coming in and then finally in
1679 passed the first of a series of
acts extending through the entire
Proprietary period prohibiting Caro
lina tobacco from being carried into
Virginia.
As Albemarle had- no seaports and
since tobacco was her money crop,
her trade was virtually ruined. It
was indeed a cruel blow for the to
bacco planters of Albemarle. The
Virginians went even further by
spreading evil reports about North
Carolina. They made many state
ments regarding the inferiority of
North Carolina tobacco. Too, Albe
marle was neglected by the Lord
Proprietors who were chiefly inter
ested in their colony on the Ashley
River. They weren't aware of the
economic importance of tohacco so
they discouraged its culture rather
than encouraged it.
I believe it imperative that I
enlighten the reader still further
about the importance of tobacco to
Albemarle. It was the chief article
of export. New England was the
principal market. The yearly crop
amounted to more than a million
pounds, but little found its way di
rectly to England because of the poor
harbors.
The Navigation Act of 1662 re
stricted the carrying trade of the
colonies to vessels of English, Irish,
and colonial ownership and forbade
the shipment of certain articles, in
cluding tobacco, elsewhere than to
England, Ireland, or some English
colony. This act permitted tobacco
i to be shipped from one colony to an
i other free of duty so it had no harm
i ful effects on North Carolina's tobac
i co trade with New England. The
> colonial consumer enjoyed a decided
; advantage over the British consumer.
> In 1675, Parliament corrected this
r error by placing an export duty on
> certain articles when shipped from
? one colony to another. On tobacco
this duty was fixed at a penny a
t pound. Tobacco was so important
- to Albemarle that die passage of
) this Act caused Culpepper's Rebellion
j in 1677. *
i In spite of these hindrances, how
- ever, the cultivation of tobacco in
i creased so that inspection houses
y were established along the chief
- rivers of the state. The tobacco
r which was shipped from North Cfcro
i, lina's own ports was nearly all
r shipped direct from Port Roanoke
s to Great Britain,, and amounted in
s 1768 to only 366,000 pounds, or one
.. half of one per cent of the total ex
t. ported from all the continenttal col
e onies. North Carolina raised more
t tobacco than this,,however. Dobbs
e wrote in 1764 that about 2,000 hogs
f heads (2,000,000 pounds) were
y grown annually and that -the chief
e part of this was shipped through
a Virginia ports. By 1765, warehouses
p. were estabisbed tor tobacco inspec
? tion at Rolfs in Pasquotank, at
Edenton on the Albemarle, Howell's
Perry on the Tir in Edgecomh, and
at Bath Town. By 176$ there was
one warehouse at Haifax, three in
Dobbs county, two in Cumberland,
and by 1790 there were inspection
houses on the Dan River in Caswell
county, at Hillsboro on the Eno, and
one in Rowan, county. This shows
that tobacco was being grown along
the valleys of the chief rivers and
along the sound. All indications
point to the fact that the period be
tween 1700 and 1800^ was a period of
expansion in tobacco culture in North
Carolina. Between 1800 and 1900,
there was a period of specialisation
within two sections of the state.
The Norh Carolina Assembly early
passed laws dealing with tobacco. It
was customary to place the regula
tions concerning tobaco in one series
of acts, and those concerning other
commodiiets in another series. The
tobacco acts, long and detailed, laid
down minute specifications for pack
ing, and required the county courts}
to provide warehouses and appoint
inspectors, whose duties were enum
erated and whose salaries were
fixed. . .
By 1754, the North Carolina As
sembly had passed strict inspection :
laws concerning all commercial to
bacco. The inspetors were required
to keep a record book numbering the
hogshead, net weight of hogshead, t
and recording whether the tobacco
was sweet or bitter, stemmed or leaf/ :
and the grade. The inspectors re
ceived thirty pounds of tobacco from 1
each hogshead for this service.
Early in North Carolina's history,
tobacco was the chief medium of ex
change. Records show that by 1673
the Assembly was levying fines to be
paid in tobacco. Tobacco notes were
made legal tender in 1754. These
notes were issued by the inspectors
after they had examined the tobacco
according to the inspection laws. The
planers passed these notes on to the
merchants, and they finally came
back to the inspectors for re
demption. Tobacco was North Caro
lina's chief medium in financing its '
part of the troops during the Revolu
tion. "?
The early methods of cultivation
were very simple and unscientific.
Different planters at different times.
As a rule, the tobacco beds were out
by the middle of February. These
plant beds were prepared near some
swamp. The beds wdre covered with
oak leaves so as to protect the plants
from frosts. The plants were trans
planted after they had attained a
height of from six to eight inches.
The small planters tilled the soil
with crude hoes while the larger
planters used a cumbersome wood
plow drawn by oxen. After plowing
two or three times, the planter top
ped his crop so as not to impoverish
the leaves. Suckering also was
practiced.
The tobacco was gathered in June
or July. The most common practice
was to strip the leaves from the
stalks as they ripened and hang
them on cords to be cured by the sun
and air. The Indians had taught the
planters this method. The planters
soon built speciaf log houses for cur
ing so as to protect their tobacco
from the elements. Fire was soon dis
covered to aid in the rapidity of the
process. When the leaves had been
cured to a light brown color, they
were allowed to come to "order."
Finally, ten to fifteen leaves were.
tied into a bundle, and these bundles
were carefully packed into hogsheads
and sent to market. <
The planters sold most of their
crop and kept the rest at home for i
domestic consumption. Tobacco was
not manufactured before the Civil
"War. The leaves were allowed to age
for a few years and then consumed
without any further processing. Ny
social custom in the colonial days |
was more nearly universal than the
use of tobacco. There was some
chewing, but the chief forms of its
use were pipe-smoking and snuff-,
taking. By the middle of the seven
teenth century, the men of all classes
and the women of the lower classes
were smoking pipes.
| A the end of the colonial period,
the'method of tobacco culture was
still rather wasteful and extravagant.
The planters used no systematic
method because of the vast extent of
rich lanus. During the colonial |
period, tobacco was grown only on |
the dark soils along the rivers/ The
tobacco was therefore large, coarse,
and strong.
During the Revolution, the ship
ments of tobacco from North Caro
lina became far more valuable than
in the decades just before the war.
At the beginning of the war, there
was a temporary setback, for the
British market, to which most of this
product Bad gone in the past, was
closed. However since tobacco was
small in bulk and light in weight in
proportion to its value, and since it
was a staple of commerce wherever
North Carolina vessels went it was
soon found to be the commodity best
sujted for exportation under the, pre
vailing abnormal conditions. Thus
about 1777 it came to be grown and
shipped in larger and larger quanti
ties. Tobacco production was stim
ulated by the government policy of
accepting it in payment of taxes and
of. purchasing it for export The
ports of Virginia were blocked in
1778 and much of the tobacco of that
state was exported by way of Albe^
: marie Sound thus reversing a process
k which had been in evidence ever since
[ the firft North Carolina settlers had
begun to ship tobacco through vfrir
gini* ports.
The legislature <ttf 1778 passed a
provision for the inspection of to
bacco thus continuing the colonial
practice. In fact, all the colonial
laws which were not consistent with
independence and which hhd not ex
pired were declared in force.
The most striking change in North
Carolina's export trade ^pfter the
Revolution was the tremendous in
crease in the shipments of .tobacco.
In 1768, only 860,000 pounds . had
been exported. In 1788 it was al
most 6,000,000 pounds. Formerly
tobacco had been almost exclusively
a product of Port Roanoke, but now
Port Brunswick, .which shipped
three-fifths of the total, ranked first;
Port Bath second; and Port Roanoke,
which exported only about (me
seventh of the total, third. Before
the Revolution, North Carolina to*
bacco had gone almost entirely to
Great Britain; now, however, only
about one-half of the total was sent
there, and most of the remainder
vya8 shipped to United States ports.
'? WV V 1..1. [ ?? ?? ..
Alter tne rcevomuon, godocou who
raised in much larger quantities in
the bade country than before.
Not long after the Revolution, the
planters accidentally discovered that
the infertile pine-wood lands of
North Carolina produced a lighter,
sweeter tobacco. This tobacco was !
far more valuable than the darker j
tobacco of colonial days. The leaf of
this new tobacco was very bright and
low in nicotine content. It was not j
profitable, however, because of the j
low yield of the infertile pine-wood
land. Artificial fertilizing and the
flue-method of curing were to be the
answers.
Two brothers, Eli and Elisha Slade
discovered the flue-curing process. ]
They lived in Caswell county. "Dur
ing the year 1853, they planted to
bacco and cured it with fires made
of charcoal, regulated in scientific
manner. By this means, they suc
ceeded in giving their tobacco beauti
ful lemon-yellow color." Thereafter
the rise of this new type of tobacco
was rapid. Tobacco production be
gan to increase about the time of the
Civil War. It increased from 11,
984,786 pounds in 1850 to 32,853,
250 pounds in 1860. This sudden
rise was greatly aided too by the in
troduction of artificial fertilizers.
About 1840 or 1850, two methods
of fertilization were being used by
North- Carolina planters. The old
method of land resting was still be
ing used and th'e new system of
manuring was beginning. The cut
down and wear-out system was at an
tion of North Carolina's tremendous
modern Jfobacco industry. ^ Artificial
fertilizers, improved methods oif cur
ing, and the use of infertile soils all
pfe^impoitant parts in the growth
of this new type of tobacco.
The rise of tobacco ? culture* in
North Carolina was brought to a
sudden stop by the Civil War. Howt
ever, a great increase in production
occurred , between 1866 and 1890:!
This was due to the spread of its,
growth along the Coastal Plain.,
North Carolina tobaeoo may be used
for smoking tobacco, cigar wrappers,
and cigarettes. Cigarette manufac- ?
turers prefer bright, mild tobacco.
North Carolina has a virtual mono
poly of the growth\>f this type of to-.!
baceo.
The increasing.popularity of cig
arettes has definitely established to- ,
bacco culture and. manufacture ip I
North Carolina. In 1929, North
Carolina led all other states of the
Union in tobacco production produc
ing 485,300,000 pounds. The pros
perity of thousands in North Caro
lina today depends directly and in
' ? ?
PLANNING
Warren County farmers at? now
making^lans for seeding crimson
dovsr jWd vetch as -winter corrx
crops, reports R. H. Bright, farm
agent of the N. C. State College Ex
tension Service:
? ? ?
month. In July, 1989 they wen $14,
BS6JK6, n $8^01410 in July 1940? ?
Tobacco.
' . ' ? J
Minoritiee that f&ar intolerance
should ;be practice, tolerance.
UJ|Uulv I
FRED JONES
JEWELRY
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Pm COUNTY INSURANCE AGENCY
J. W. JOYNER, Manager Main Street, FarmviUe, N. C.
s" ?' ?? -
WE ARE PROUD OF THE
? ?' ' *?
Farmville Tobacco Market
* f ' . ? ? ?
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We8t^^fe^ef ?***? 3824 ? Farmvme,JN.uiroBn4v ^