Virginia is a hell on earth. What did the British come here to colonize?

After the great geographical discovery, Europeans soon tasted the sweetness of colonial plunder. In the vast overseas colonies, Europeans plundered cheap cash crops and promoted their own industrial products. Huge economic benefits made these colonists earn a lot of money, but since ancient times, "horses have no night grass and no fat, people have no windfall and no wealth", and interests and risks are always twins, so if you want to reap benefits, you must deal with risks. Virginia, which was colonized by Britain 400 years ago (today's Virginia, USA) is the best example. Virginia is a magical place that can make the British laugh and cry.

Map of Virginia

First, the British fanatical colonial psychology.

In Britain in the early17th century, there was a joke that peanuts on the American continent and even the shackles of slaves were made of gold. This is extremely absurd to people today, but at that time it attracted countless poor people who dreamed of getting rich overnight to explore America.

The British government also expressed its support for the folk colonial adventure fever for a simple reason. First, it wants to increase domestic wealth through overseas colonization. The second is to expel domestic Catholics in disguise by opening up colonies overseas. Catholics in Europe were generally persecuted by the government at that time.

However, the British colonial enthusiasm was poured cold water head-on by the bleak achievements of overseas colonization. Because Britain was fighting a maritime trade war with Spain at that time, the British government organized many fleets to rob Spanish merchant ships at sea. It can be said that the manpower, material resources and financial resources of the whole British country have been invested in the construction of the navy, and it is impossible to allocate more resources to support the expansion of overseas colonies.

British-Spanish naval battle

Second, escape from Virginia.

Britain won the naval battle against Spain, but the British originally made a fortune by robbing Spanish merchant ships, which has been unsustainable with the decline of Spain. The British, eager to make money, pinned their hopes of getting rich on the colonies on the North American continent.

Before the first British colonists landed in Virginia, North America, they imagined that Virginia was a land with moderate temperature, fertile land and rich opportunities. However, after landing, it was discovered that this land of feng shui is really a purgatory on earth. Not only is the climate hot, but it is also prone to various diseases. In winter, clothes without arms will be frozen off. So the first colonists arrived in Virginia less than five years ago, and they couldn't go on. Most of them fled back to Europe.

Third, tobacco brought Virginia back to life with blood.

Tobacco is a magical thing. Not only refreshing, but also addictive. The most important thing is that it can be recognized by British countries because of its rich profits.

16 17, tobacco found in South America was planted in North America. Unfortunately, Virginia's climate and soil are particularly suitable for growing tobacco. At that time, tobacco was still a luxury in Europe, and generally only nobles could afford it. Although the general public also wants to smoke two, the high price makes them flinch.

Sundried tobacco

Therefore, once tobacco is mass-produced, it can cover all social strata, which will be an inestimable windfall. Therefore, the British government at that time tried its best to send labor to Virginia in order to grow tobacco.

But as we said before, Virginia's natural environment really can't keep people. What shall we do? The British government has many bad measures. They first sent criminals and prisoners of war to Virginia and forced them to work as coolies in tobacco plantations.

However, the scale of the plantation became larger and larger, and the labor force was still in short supply. What are we going to do? The British government still has a rotten chess game. Under the leadership of the British government, Catholics in Britain are constantly persecuted, and many of them have no choice but to immigrate to Virginia in North America.

Persecute Catholics

Adequate labor resources have enabled Virginia's tobacco planting industry to develop rapidly. Between 1699 and 170 1, the British tobacco tax reached 42 1000, which accounted for as much as 20% of the tariff. At that time, there was a joke in Britain that the wealth brought by tobacco even exceeded the maritime trade war with Spain.

Fourth, the bottom line of wealth loss.

Because new colonists keep coming to Virginia on the American continent, in order to feed the new colonists, the scale of tobacco plantations must continue to expand. But good land is always limited, so the contradiction between colonists and Indians inevitably occurs.

Indians today

When European colonists first arrived in America, Indians worshipped advanced technology from Europe. They think this is a special function possessed by the gods. For example, when they see that magnets can attract iron, they regard the person who uses magnets as a god and give him supreme respect.

However, the Indian's enthusiasm and goodwill can't change the colonists' purpose of plundering wealth. Whether Catholics or criminals and vagrants from Europe, they took up arms to slaughter Indians and then robbed their land. The Indians also fought back, but the civilizations of both sides were not at the same level, so the Indians were finally defeated and expelled, and the European colonists gradually completed their occupation of America!

The colonists slaughtered Indians.