【简译】烟草与美洲殖民地时期的经济

The most important cash crop in Colonial America was tobacco, first cultivated by the English at their Jamestown Colony of Virginia in 1610 CE by the merchant John Rolfe (l. 1585-1622 CE). Tobacco grew in the wild prior to this time and was cultivated by the indigenous peoples as a stimulant but, after Rolfe, became the most lucrative crop in the Americas.

          美洲殖民地时期最重要的经济作物是烟草，英国商人约翰·罗尔夫（John Rolfe， 1585-1622年）于1610年在弗吉尼亚的詹姆斯敦殖民地首次种植了烟草。在此之前，烟草是野生的，土著人将其进行培育以作为兴奋剂，但在罗尔夫之后，烟草成为美洲最赚钱的作物。

The indigenous people regarded tobacco as a sacred plant which allowed access to the spirit world, a stimulant, and a medicinal substance. After the Spanish colonized the West Indies, South and Central America after 1492 CE, tobacco was grown, harvested, and exported as a recreational drug, and its popularity in Europe and elsewhere made it highly profitable.

          土著人认为烟草是一种神圣的植物，可以通往精神世界，是一种兴奋剂，也是一种药用物质。1492年西班牙人在西印度群岛、南美洲和中美洲相继建立殖民地后，烟草作为一种消遣性药物进行种植、收获和出口，它在欧洲等地的流行使其利润丰厚。  

Once the English had established themselves at Jamestown, this model repeated itself and Virginian tobacco became so popular that, by 1627 CE, 500,000 pounds of tobacco a year were shipped from the colony to Britain. As British colonialism in North America expanded, so did the tobacco plantations and, in time, tobacco served not only as the economic foundation of the colonies but as currency. The process of growing and selling tobacco moved through a series of steps which included the farmer receiving a tobacco note (a kind of check) in return for his product with which he could purchase goods. The tobacco was shipped to English merchants who would send back more goods in payment.

          英国人在詹姆斯敦站稳脚跟后，这种模式又重演了，弗吉尼亚烟草变得很受欢迎，到1627年，每年有50万磅烟草从殖民地运往英国。随着英国殖民主义在北美的扩张，烟草种植园也随之扩大，到后来，烟草不仅成为殖民地的经济基础，还成为货币。种植和销售烟草的过程要经过一系列步骤，包括烟农收到烟草票据（一种支票），作为对其产品的回报，烟农可以用烟草票据购买商品。烟草被运往英国商人手中，英国商人会发送更多的货物作为付款。

如果认准备考，可联系网站客服获取烟草招聘考试资料！

部分学员成绩

学员评价