Jamestown, founded by the London Company in 1607, was the first permanent English colony established in America. The colonies began as a disaster: “during the first ten years of Jamestown's history, almost everyone died horribly…the people of Jamestown were not doing well” (Ripper, 2008). They were either starving or dying to fight with the Native Americans. Jamestown found its salvation thanks to tobacco, a plant native to the Americas. Whales were also an abundant source of money. This led to slavery becoming a huge business, as the colonies needed people to work for them on plantations and in many other areas. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Tobacco was first introduced to Europeans by Native Americans. It is debatable that without England's interest in tobacco and the potential money generated by this sector, the colonies would not have developed into what is today the United States of America. As Ripper said: "If John Smith and Pocahontas saved Jamestown, John Rolfe's faith in smokable and snuffable vegetable leaves allowed England to find gold after entirely green gold." (Ripper, 2008). The tobacco industry grew rapidly, as did its need for workers, which introduced slaves. Whales were also a huge source of income for many. Whales were often hunted and could sometimes be found stranded. Whale blubber was used to create oil, and whales having plenty of blubber to keep warm produced plenty of oil. Whale baleen was also used. They were later used in women's clothing: "In its most common use, baleen gave structure to women's underwear" (Common, 2008). Since the whales weighed a lot, this in turn produced a lot of oil and baleen. With all the work to be done, they needed cheap labor, and that's where slavery came into play. Of course there were indentured servants, they were people who wanted to start a new life or go to the colonies, so they sold their service for a certain period of time. Slaves, on the other hand, were more expensive but worked indefinitely, because they were purchased. Slaves also retained their value, they could be resold for a price equal to or greater than what they were purchased for. Later hereditary slavery was also established, they were only subject to African American slaves, but this meant that their children would also become slaves. Slavery was hardest for African Americans. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay The United States of America might never have existed without tobacco, which made the journey to the Americas a great success. Slavery also played a major economic role during this era. It is true that slavery was wrong and caused much distress to people of African American descent, but would the United States be possible without slavery ??