Serving Time in Virginia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Serving Time in Virginia - Essay Example Sir Edwin Sandys has tried to rebuild the Jamestown in three ways. He attracted the new investors by granting them the head rights for introducing and brining in new tenants. He grabbed the attention of new settlers by introducing lotteries. He tried to make the colony a more peaceful and pleasant place to settle down in by abolishing martial law. Citizens were extended the rights to select two members of the colony as their representatives or spokespersons. Even after the years of struggle and reconstruction, Jamestown was lacking a lot of attention. Citizens were legally enforced to grow corns. Insufficient food, arrival of unprepared settlers, inadequate housing facilities and presence of contaminated wells were becoming the reason of spreading disease. People were more interested in growing tobacco than corn despite food scarcity. This raised the question why Jamestown was still not self-sufficient despite the hard struggle. Another reason could be the transformation of Virginia into a boom country. The settlers discovered new innovative ways to produce more crops of tobacco. They also predicted that they could grow more tobacco crops only if they would have servants or peons taking care of their crops. This idea pinned the concept of slavery for the first time. The tenants gave fifty percent of their crops to plantation owners and worked for four to seven years in their fields. On the other hand, the servants worked with full commi tment and dedication in exchange for food, shelter and their passage from England. As a result, with the help of tenants and new laborers, colonists looked forward to become richer by producing more tobacco. Gradually, tobacco became the economic trademark of the colony. Serving Time in Virginia also raises some questions as to why slavery didn’t grow well during the time when labor was valued greatly. It is worth mentioning that only 5 percent of the Africans