There were no banks in colonial Virginia and very few people used currency and coins to buy goods and services. A form of trading and exchanging, called barter was commonly used instead of money. Colonial Virginians could buy goods from merchants and shopkeepers on credit and pay their debts when their crops were harvested and sold. Tobacco became a highly-bartered item that was used as money. It was grown and then sold in England as a cash crop. A cash crop is one that is grown in Virginia to sell for money rather than for use by the planter. Tobacco certificates were also issued for transacting business. Inspectors at public warehouses where tobacco was sold issued these certificates. Also, when a colonial planter made large business transactions that involved the buying and trading of goods with England, the value of the goods were exchanged in English pounds (L), shillings, and pence.
A planter, (someone who owns or runs a plantation) cultivated and harvested tobacco on a plantation. The larger the plantation, the more tobacco could be grown, bringing more wealth and influence for the planter. The wealth and Influence of planters depended on one crop, and that crop was tobacco. The Virginia colony began to grow and so did the production of tobacco. The practice of using tobacco instead of money became a way of life for the colonists. Colonists continued to use tobacco to settle all debts. The wages of soldiers and the salaries of clergymen and government officials were paid in tobacco and even some indentured servants and wives were also purchased using tobacco.
The production of tobacco spreaded down the James, York, and Rappahannock Rivers, throughout Tidewater Virginia. The small town of Fredericksburg grew into a thriving colonial commerce center because of tobacco. With the rapid growth of tobacco, in just a few years there was too much tobacco being grown and prices for tobacco began to drop. In 1730, a law was passed to control the quality and quantity of tobacco grown in Virginia to insure Virginia planters would still earn good prices for their tobacco crop. The Act of 1730 said that all farmers had to bring their tobacco to an inspection warehouse to have it inspected. The town of Fredericksburg was chosen as one of several tobacco warehouse sites in colonial Virginia. There were also inspection warehouses in Falmouth and Spotsylvania. Many tobacco planters would travel the Rappahannock River, bringing their tobacco to Fredericksburg for inspection and storage to await the arrival of big ships to take it back to England for sale. Inspectors at the warehouses checked the quality of the planter's tobacco. If the tobacco was not good quality, the planter could not send it to England for sale. Extra tobacco was also destroyed, so that there would not be too much of it for sale. The Act of 1730 helped the planters to continue to earn good money for their tobacco crop.
Growing tobacco required lots of land and hard work. Tobacco planters would begin cultivating their tobacco crop in late December or early January. However, many planters began just after Christmas, with the first task of sowing the seed. The entire season of plan planting and harvesting tobacco lasted into August and September, when the tobacco plants were finally cut and dried. Once a tobacco plant was finally ready for sale, it had to be packed inside of barrels called hogsheads before it could be shipped to England. The hogsheads were carried to inspection sites such as the one that was located in Fredericksburg, by wagon, boat or even rolled. Prominent businessmen living along the Rappahannock River such as Fielding Lewis of Kenmore and William Fitzhugh of Chatham probably brought their tobacco to Fredericksburg for inspection. Mr. Fitzhugh owned and operated one of the first slave labor plantations in the Stafford area, where tobacco was the primary crop. Another prominent name in the Fredericksburg area during the 1700s was John Mercer. John Mercer lived in Stafford County along the Potomac Creek, and owned many slave, indentured servants, and tobacco warehouses.
Colonial Virginia planters quickly discovered that they needed many permanent workers to help grow tobacco and get it ready to be shipped to England. As time went on, the successful planting of tobacco depended on a reliable and inexpensive source of labor. Many Africans were brought over on crowded ships against their will to eventually become that source of labor needed for growing tobacco. However, the newcomers to Virginia were not treated as slaves immediately. Some were indentured servants and eventually obtained their freedom.
Slavery became apart of the colonial life, through the late 1800's. Slaves were often bought and sold for plantation work from slave blocks, in front of taverns and at courthouses and stores in Spotsylvania and Stafford. One slave block in particular was located In Fredericksburg at the corner of William and Charles Streets. Once a slave was purchased, he or she became the property of the plantation owner. Slaves planted and harvested the tobacco crop, built the tobacco shipping barrels (hogshead), delivered the tobacco crop to the inspections warehouses and loaded and unloaded the ships preparing for sail to England. Some slaves even became skilled laborers such as blacksmiths, shoemakers and coopers. Slaves worked long days, doing very hard work with no pay. Slaves were given only basic food, clothing and shelter for their hard work on plantations. There were slaves in the town of Fredericksburg but most slaves in this area were on plantations in the surrounding counties, such as Stafford, Spotsylvania, and King George. Although owning slaves became a way of life for colonial Virginia, many did not feel comfortable with slavery and opposed this form of work.
Sources:
Breen, T.H. (1985). Tobacco Culture: The Mentality of lthe Great Tidewater Planters on the Eve of Revolution. New Jersey: Princeton University Press
Darter, Oscar H., (1957) Colonial Fredericksburg and Neighborhood in Perspective. New York: Twayne Publishers.
Fitzgerald, Ruth Coder, (1979) A Different Story. NC: Unicorn
Hintz, Suzanne Steiner, and Laura Daughtery Smart, The Fredericksburg Connection (1980)
Kulikoff, Allan (1986).Tobacco and Slaves: The Development ofSouthern Cultures in the Chesapeake, 1680-1800. NC: The University of Norht Carolina Press.