American Tobacco and European Consumers
By Tre’ Kelly
( SUMMARY )

The English colonies in the Chesapeake prospered by growing “ever-increasing crops of tobacco.” People from the eastern side of the Atlantic bought a lot of this tobacco so they could smoke, chew, sniff, and drink it. The only reason why the tobacco had commercial value was because the Europeans had such a desire for it. King James I. on the other hand disliked tobacco. He believed that smoking wasn’t honorable and acting this way toward tobacco is like imitating the “slavish Indians.” Since so many people used tobacco James decided to “supposedly” use it toward a good cause. “ Clearly, James championed a lost cause.”