<P> In 1612, settler John Rolfe planted tobacco obtained from Bermuda (during his stay there as part of the Third Supply). Within a few years, the crop proved extremely lucrative in the European market . As the English increasingly used tobacco products, tobacco in the American colonies became significant economic force, especially in the tidewater region surrounding the Chesapeake Bay . </P> <P> Vast plantations were built along the rivers of Virginia, and social / economic systems developed to grow and distribute this cash crop . Some elements of this system included the importation and employment of slaves to grow crops . Planters would then fill large hogsheads with tobacco and convey them to inspection warehouses . In 1730, the Virginia House of Burgesses standardized and improved quality of tobacco exported by establishing the Tobacco Inspection Act of 1730, which required inspectors to grade tobacco at 40 specified locations . </P> <P> England supplied the great majority of colonists . In 1608, the first Poles and Slovaks arrived as part of a group of skilled craftsmen . In 1619, the first Africans arrived, though the concept of racially based slavery did not evolve for several decades . In the mid-17th century, French Huguenots arrived in the colony . In the early 18th century, German specialists arrived to establish the Germanna settlement . Scots and Scots - Irish settled on the Virginia frontier . Some Welsh arrived including the ancestors of Thomas Jefferson . </P> <P> With the boom in tobacco planting, there was a severe shortage of laborers to work the labor - intensive crop . One method to solve the shortage was through the usage of indentured servants . </P>

Early settlers to maryland experienced a starving time similar to that of early settlers to virginia