he Powhatan confederacy. The only man who was able to somewhat keep peace, both in the colony and with the Indians, was John Smith. Despite the attempts of John Smith, the settlers still suffered one horror after another. Then, to make things worse, Smith was injured in a gunpowder explosion, and had to be shipped back to England. The colony quickly succumbed to anarchy when Smith returned to England just two years after Jamestown was founded. Tensions mounted with the native Powatan Indians, as in Smith's absence, settlers opted to raid Indian food supplies when staples ran out and British ships failed to arrive to replenish supplies (Taylor 127). Disease struck most of the first settlers within the years of 1609-1610. "Only 60 of the original 300 settlers were still alive by May, 1610," according to historian Edward Dodson. That same year, colonists founded Henrico (which later became Richmond), easing the isolation problems and food shortages experienced at Jamestown. The one factor that revolutionized Jamestown and Virginia's economy, though, came in 1612. Native plants crossbred with West Indies' seed produced tobacco. Within a decade, it became Virginia's primary source of revenue. The area soon became controlled by a handful of large plantation landholders with indentured laborers. Since few British colonists could finance their cost of passage, colonizing agencies fronted transportation costs. In exchange, emigrants agreed to work for the agencies as contract laborers for usually between four and seven years. Often, these contracts were sold to colonists with large estates. Though many indentured servants earned their freedom over time, more wealthy colonists were able to absorb New World land rapidly during early colonization. As experienced in other colonies, indentured servitude created an imbalance of economy and political power as Jamestown and the Chesapeake Bay colonies developed (Gordy 134). After indentu...
