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Tobacco and the Transatlantic Slave Trade

Liam Corry, Curator of Emigration, explores tobacco in the context of those who were forced to farm it.

The Founding of America

Tobacco is central to the story of the founding of America. Early settlers of what is now the United States of America turned to enslavement to find workers for farms and plantations.  

Prior to European colonisation, tobacco had been harvested by Indigenous Peoples for thousands of years. It was used in a variety of ways, including in ceremonies and for health. Tobacco quickly became popular amongst Europeans for smoking. 

A photograph of the flowers of tobacco plants. The flowers are small, long, with pinkish leaves and a yellow middle like a daisy.
The flowers of the tobacco plant.
A photograph of tobacco plants. They have large green leaves, and are about the shoulder height of a tall man.
The leaves of the tobacco plant are the parts that are processed for consumption.
A row of tobacco leaves are trying on a spit.
Once harvested, the tobacco is dried.
A photograph of the flowers of tobacco plants. The flowers are small, long, with pinkish leaves and a yellow middle like a daisy.
The flowers of the tobacco plant.

Plantations

A plantation is a farm that focuses on a specific cash crop. During the colonisation of the Americas, tobacco, cotton, and sugarcane were the main crops grown on plantations. 

These three crops quickly found a market in Europe. Liam Corry, Curator of Emigration at the Ulster American Folk Park, refers to the international trade that developed around these crops as creating a 'web', through which everyone - 'even the poorest people in Ireland' - found their lives touched by the transatlantic slave trade.

Two tobacco tins sit on a shelf.
These tins contained tobacco for smoking.
A sugar cone wrapped in paper.
Sugar was somewhat of a luxury commodity.
Cotton sheets sit atop one another on a shelf, above a sign reading 'Clark's ONT spool cotton'.
Cotton quickly became popular and rivalled the thriving linen industry of Ulster.
Two tobacco tins sit on a shelf.
These tins contained tobacco for smoking.

Growing Tobacco

Those who were enslaved on tobacco plantations worked from dawn to dusk taking care of many acres of land. 

In the springtime, seedlings were planted. Along with constant weeding, in the summer months, insects that threatened the crops had to be killed. Any flowers and suckers that grew were removed to make sure that the plant was spending all of its energy into its leaves. 

During harvesting, the large leaves were removed from the stalk. The leaves would be dried, processed, and sent to port to be shipped across the world. 

The flowers of the tobacco plant. They are small and long, with five points. The leaves are pink.
The flowers of the tobacco plant are removed as they grow, to ensure that the plant's energy goes towards growing its leaves.
On the stem of a tobacco stalk, small shoots known as suckers are sprouting.
Like the flowers, the 'suckers' - the fresh shoots - are removed as they grow.
A woman holds a dried tobacco 'pigtail'.
Tobacco was sold in 'pigtails' likes these to consumers.
The flowers of the tobacco plant. They are small and long, with five points. The leaves are pink.
The flowers of the tobacco plant are removed as they grow, to ensure that the plant's energy goes towards growing its leaves.

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