"We have no need for Virginia Trade": New England Tobacco in the Atlantic World

This talk examines tobacco’s role in the agriculture, commerce, and political economy of New England. By the 18th-century, tobacco figured prominently in the region, and was exported in large quantities to Dutch Suriname and to West African slave traders. Tobacco was a true “Atlantic Commodity;” and, just as in the southern colonies, it drew New England farmers into the world of Atlantic slavery.