Tobacco and Slavery in Virginia
Karen Sherry, curator at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture in Richmond’s exhibit on 400 years of African American history describe the importance of tobacco on the Virginia Colony's economy and the reliance on slave labor during that time. She also discussed the severe punishments runaway slaves faced on these tobacco plantations.
Description
Karen Sherry, curator at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture in Richmond’s exhibit on 400 years of African American history describe the importance of tobacco on the Virginia Colony's economy and the reliance on slave labor during that time. She also discussed the severe punishments runaway slaves faced on these tobacco plantations.
Bell Ringer Assignment
- What developments helped the Virginia Colony become the "gem of the crown of the British Empire?"
- How did the labor force for the tobacco industry change in the 17th Century? What were the reasons for this?
- According to Ms. Sherry, how did slavery and tobacco lead to the development of an elite planter class?
- How does the experiences of Bambara Harry and Dinah reflect the brutalities of slavery in Virginia at the time?
- How do the images on the tobacco package and the plantation inventory represent the tobacco industry in the Virginia Colony?
Additional Resources
Participants
Vocabulary
- British Empire
- Cash Crop
- Commodity
- Fledgling
- Indentured Servants
- Plantation
- Planter
- Runaway
- Slavery
- Tobacco Cultivation
- Virginia Colony