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The Chesapeake Bay palyed a large part in shaping the development of the Southern colonies of both Virginia and Maryland. It is an area with a rich maritime history (map source:Chesapeake Bay Area Piracy of the 17th century web-site) |
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When Virginia was finally permanently settled by Captain John Smith on his 6th expedition there in 1606, and finally experienced some success, it was credited, in part, to the success of tabacco farming. This was due to an increased demand for the leaf in Englahnd as smoking, or "drinking" this substance as it was called at the time, gained popularity. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
From 1614, when the first shipment of tabbacco was shipped from the Chesapeake Bay region to England, the colonies in the area found a source of income, economic growth, and regional specialization and development. It is because of the geographic layout of the area, with its many rivers and location on the Atlantic, that the regional argicultural development that followed was possible. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The increased demand, combined with the colonists ability to spread out and create large tabacco plantations while still being connected to exportation of good by ships was due in large part by the geographic layout of the region. The Chesapeake Bay with its vast amount of waterfront property as well as multiple navigable rivers meant that plantations could branch out along the rivers and shorefront and still have connection to water so that ships and merchants could access them directly to buy their much desired tabacco. In the 1624 book published by Captain smith called the History of Virginia explaining the colonies success, there are several maps of the Cesapeake Bay with the Bay itself as the main part of the map, thus demonstrating its importance to the colonists. |
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Tabacco, especially Virginian tabacco, was desired increasingly by those in England. King James I, was against the sale of tabacco, and although he eventually allowed for Virginian tabacco to be sold in England, he willingly spoke out against "drinking" tabacco, as it was called at the time. This opposition by the King did not gain him any support from the colonists, although they did profit from his limiting of the sale of other country's and colonies tabacco in England. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The wars that England entered into prior to the American Revolution, caused many economic problems for the Southern colonies in the Chesapeake region, and caused even more upset with the King and mother country. These problems were those especially focused around piracy, the inability to ship tabacco sucessfully to England, and other maritime commerce difficulties caused by such wars as the Aglo-Dutch wars, the first of which began in 1665. It was not until 1667 that there was any ships sent in ofer to escort and protect maritime commerce involving the export of tabacco in the Chesapeake region. This seeming lack on concern on Great Britain's part can be seen as one reason why some southern colonists were willing to support the Revolution in 1776, less than 10 years later. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Revolutionary War was desired by those in the northern colonies as well as the southern colonies, despite their differences in problems with the British government. As seen when closely reading the Declaration of Indepedence, the list of grievances has some contradictions in it. This can be accounted for, in part, because of the difference in grievences of the southern and norhtern colonies, and by the fact that the grievences were simple contributed by each section and written down. This demonstrates clearly the division that had grown in the region due to their differing types of water accessiblity and ways in which they used this accessability. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The ocean also played an important part in the American Revolution as well. This is seen in the rememberance important naval officers such as Seth Harding, Elisha Hinman, Hector McNeil, Abraham Whipple, and John Paul Jones. (picture source:Officers and Midshipmen web page) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The maritime importance in the Chesapeake during the American Revolution is especially important when one wants to understand how the suporters of the revolution in the area most sucessfully fought the British. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The physical and geographical aspects Chesapeake itself and guarding as well as patrolling it was also an important aspect of the Revolutionary War. For, without controll of its mouth, no goods could qucikly enter or exit the colony of Virginia or the Western Shore of Maryland. The importance of the Bay is seen in examples such as the Map of the Entrance to the Chesapeake Bay and James and York rivers, which depicts the various positions of the British, French, and Colonists during the War. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other Revolutionary War Links and Chesapeake Sites: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chesapeake Colonial History group Revolutionary War Links |
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Sources: Rumrunners web site Chesapeake Web Site Revolutionary Timeline Page The Mariners Museum American Navies of the Revolutionary War Declaration of Independence on the Web |