] Tobacco in Early Virginia
.... I seem not to have access to the source - Horn - to which you make
reference, and I also am unable again to quickly locate my source for the
statement that in the middle to late 17th Century the VA Legislature pegged
tobacco at 2 pence per lb., at least as far as public transactions were
entered upon, i.e., Colony to and fro debtors and creditors, colonies in
relationship with counties and vice versa, and counties in relationships
with all others. As you know...tobacco was the medium of exchange during
that period and long thereafter, however the vehicle of settlement was
anything acceptable to those who were involved on any side of the bargain or
debt.
Paul
-----Original Message-----
From: Poldi Tonin [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Saturday, November 08, 2008 2:06 PM
To: Paul Drake
Cc: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VA-ROOTS] Tobacco in Early Virginia
Paul: Below is a discussion of prices for 10-year periods. Also quoted are
remarks regarding types of tobacco and land quality in Virginia and
Maryland.
"The long-term decline in the price of leaf, from 1 or 2s per pound in the
boom times of the 1620's to 5d in the mid-1630s, to 2 or 3d in the early
1650s, to 1 or 2d in the 1660s, and to less than 1d after 1680, was not
simply the result of overproduction ... planters were unable to lower the
costs of production any further: ... ." "The result was thirty years of
depression until the end of the War of Spanish Succession and renewed demand
after 1715."
"In Virginia, the best soils were to be found between the James and
Rappahannock rivers, for scented [sweet] tobacco was grown mainly for the
London market."
"Anne Arundel County [Maryland] ....produced the lower-priced oronoco.
Mediocre or poor soils were found on the Eastern Shore and on the southern
bank of the James in counties such as Surry and Lower Norfolk."
"In Lower Norfolk County, tobacco cultivation largely came to a halt in the
1680s and was replaced by the production of tar and the sale of livestock
and foodstuffs to the West Indies."
James Horn "Adapting to a New World: English Society in the
Seventeenth-Century Chesapeake" (Chapel Hill, N.C. and London: University of
North Carolina Press, 1994) 143-144, 146
s = shilling
d = pence
There seems to have been a bursting tobacco bubble that caused misery for
the 30-year period between 1680 and 1710 of the depression when tobacco was
just above 1 penny a pound and planters were in mortgage debts . Other
crops had to be cultivated for survival just as now technology is replacing
manufacturing and we have a bubble or two to contend with.
Just as today's dollar has dropped in value due to economic problems, the
penny or pence in England against the Virginia currency - tobacco - would
affect exchange rate during the time period of the 30-year depression.
I don't remember who recently brought this book to the attention of the
list. It is among those on Google Books but not in its entirety. I thank
you now. I did purchase a copy after reading a portion online. Full of
tables and charts it is an excellent study to enable genealogists to view
England and the Chesapeake in economic and social conditions that influenced
the formation the Colonies. My only criticism of the book is that it does
not contain a bibliography and one will have to search endnotes for
referenced material for continued reading. My advice: Read it with a
highlighter in hand.
Poldi
On Sat, Nov 8, 2008 at 10:52 AM, Paul Drake <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
I use 2.5 cents per lb. as an average for the 17th Century, and, as
Janice
noted, it depended, as now, on the "sweetness" of the "weed" and its
condition at time of sale. Bruce states that the average hogshead
of
tobacco in that same period was about 390 lbs. Slightly differing
from that
Johnson in 1755 defines a hogshead as a container of a liquid volume
of 53
gallons. Other writers, while with certainty say that it was a dry
container of 525 lbs., agree with the majority that casks of tobacco
were of
varying sizes. I believe that the VA Legislature at about
mid-century
defined a hogshead as being 43" in length and 28" in diameter at the
top.
I use 2.5 pence as and average value of a lb. of tobacco in the 17th
Century, however note that Orinoco was less in demand world-wide
than were
the plants grown a tad north. As an example, the difference in
those grades
is apparent when we find that a preacher's salary late in that
Century was
set at 16,000 lbs per year, which was fine for
most, but brought less money in the South Tidewater because of the
quality,
hence the preachers who in, say Isle of Wight, were earning less
than those
further north who were of greater eloquence and experience.
As I remember, Rev. Bayley from Isle of Wight was so bad that he was
sent
back to England, he being one of the few who would come over to
preach in
that area. hi
Though some will differ with me, I use 70 cents as the present value
of a
pence (penny) of that distant century.
As a starter, Ms. Armstrong, I would suggest; Philip Bruce,
"Economic
History Of Virginia In The Seventeenth Century" (2 volumes), see
Index under
"money" and under "tobacco". Virtually all VA libraries of size have
that
set, as well as do all of the large libraries in the nation.
Re: [VA-ROOTS] Tobacco in Early Virginia
Just as a side note, you'd probably need to know what condition the
tobacco
was in when weighed. Green on the stalk? Dried, on the stalk? Dried
and
stripped from the stalk? I'm guessing the last condition, as being
the more
likely form that could be easily stored and shipped. Or perhaps the
standard cask
or barrel held a particular amount of tobacco, so that a fine of
720 pounds
would be an amount that was instantly recognized, like a gallon of
milk.
Janice
I would like to know how many pounds of tobacco an average planter
in
Virginia in the late 1600's or early 1700's could harvest. I guess
I'm
just trying
to get some sort of frame of reference as to how much money we are
talking
about when I'm reading about early lawsuits. For instance, I have
an
ancestor
who was ordered after losing a lawsuit in Westmoreland Co, VA, in
1703 to
pay 720 pounds of tobacco. To me this seems like a lot of tobacco.
However,
in reading through early court records, I'm seeing a lot of orders
for
400-700 pounds of tobacco. So, I'm just trying to find some frame
of
reference to
understand how much money we are talking about. Any help?
Cindy Cornwell McCachern
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