What cash crop secured Virginia's economic viability after Rolfe's introduction?

What cash crop secured Virginia's economic viability after Rolfe's introduction?

• A. Rice
• B. Tobacco
• C. Indigo
• D. Cotton

Answer: (B)

Tobacco became the financial engine that kept Virginia afloat after Rolfe’s success. Rolfe's tobacco—grown with a strain that thrived in Virginia—found eager markets in England, making it a reliable source of cash income for the colony. That steady export revenue drew settlers, funded plantations, and created a demand for labor, which in turn reinforced Virginia’s economic viability through the plantation system and associated colonial institutions. The other crops listed did not serve as the foundational export for Virginia's early 17th-century economy in the same transformative way.

Tobacco became the financial engine that kept Virginia afloat after Rolfe’s success. Rolfe's tobacco—grown with a strain that thrived in Virginia—found eager markets in England, making it a reliable source of cash income for the colony. That steady export revenue drew settlers, funded plantations, and created a demand for labor, which in turn reinforced Virginia’s economic viability through the plantation system and associated colonial institutions. The other crops listed did not serve as the foundational export for Virginia's early 17th-century economy in the same transformative way.