John Rolfe

This article is about the Virginia colonist. For the Canadian lawyer and politician, see John Rolph.

John Rolfe (c. 1585 – 1622) was one of the early English settlers of North America. He is credited with the first successful cultivation of tobacco as an export crop in the Colony of Virginia and is known as the husband of Pocahontas, daughter of the chief of the Powhatan Confederacy.

Biography

Rolfe was born in Heacham, Norfolk, England. At the time, Spain held a virtual monopoly on the lucrative tobacco trade within Europe. As the consumption of tobacco had increased, the balance of trade between England and Spain began to be seriously affected. Rolfe was a businessman who saw the opportunity to undercut Spanish imports by growing tobacco in England's new colony of Jamestown, in Virginia. Jamestown had been established by an initial group of settlers in 1607. This colony proved as troubled as earlier English settlements, and a relief fleet was dispatched in 1609, carrying new settlers and supplies across the Atlantic. The fleet was broken apart by a severe hurricane. Aboard the flagship of the Virginia Company, the Sea Venture, on which Rolfe was embarked, the Admiral of the Company, Sir George Somers, took the helm. The ship was deliberately driven onto the reefs of Bermuda to prevent its foundering. All aboard, 150 passengers and crew, and 1 dog, survived, and remained for ten months in Bermuda, subsequently also known as The Somers Isles, while they built two small ships to continue the voyage to Jamestown. A number of passengers and crew, however, did not complete this journey. Some had died or been killed, lost at sea (the Sea Venture's long boat had been fitted with a sail, and several men sent to take word to Jamestown - they were never heard from again), or left behind to maintain England's claim to Bermuda. Because of this, although the Virginia Company's charter was not extended to Bermuda until 1612, the Colony dates its settlement from 1609. Among those left buried in Bermuda were Rolfe's first wife and child.

Rolfe settled in Jamestown in 1610. In 1612, he established Varina Farms, a plantation on the James River about 30 miles upstream from the Jamestown Settlement, and across the river from Henricus. Native tobacco in Virginia was not liked by the English settlers. However, using strains he had brought from England, John Rolfe is credited with being the first to commercially cultivate Nicotiana tabacum tobacco plants in North America; export of the tobacco helped turn the Virginia Colony into a profitable venture. In 1614 Rolfe married Pocahontas, daughter of the local Native American leader Chief Powhatan. Chief Powhatan gave the newlyweds property that included a small brick house. Today, Fort Smith is in Surry County, just across the James River and was used as a home or cottage by Pocahontas and John Rolfe when they were first married.

The estate at Varina Farms was the home of John Rolfe and Pocahontas for two years following their marriage, and was the birthplace of their son, Thomas Rolfe. Rolfe's plantation at Varina Farms was named for a mild variety of the tobacco from Spain, similar to the strain from Rolfe had brought with him from England, which helped make the colony profitable.

Pocahontas died after Rolfe brought her to England in 1616, but their young son Thomas Rolfe survived. John Rolfe may have been killed by the Powhatan Confederacy during the Indian Massacre of 1622; it is known that he died suddenly in 1622, which was a year of warfare between the colonists and the tribes. This may or may not be true and there are some nonfiction books saying he died of an illness. Thomas Rolfe later returned to Virginia, and was accepted by the Powhatan.

Heritage and legacy

• The strain of tobacco cultivated by John Rolfe was the export cash crop that helped make the Virginia Colony profitable. It was the mainstay of the farming plantations for generations. Huge warehouses such as those which were built on Richmond's Tobacco Row attest to its popularity. Even almost 400 years later, tobacco figures prominently in Virginia's economy.
• Through their son, Thomas Rolfe, the marriage between John Rolfe and Pocahontas helped bring peace between the tribes and the English settlers of Virginia for a generation. Many of the prominent First Families of Virginia trace their lineage to descendants of Thomas Rolfe.
• In eastern Virginia, State Route 31 is named the John Rolfe Highway. It links Williamsburg with Jamestown, the southern entrance to the Colonial Parkway, and via the Jamestown Ferry leads to the rich farming area of Surry County and Sussex County, ending in Wakefield, Virginia.
• John Rolfe Middle School, in Henrico County, Virginia, one of Virginia's eight original shires of 1634, is named for him. Varina magisterial district in Henrico County is named for Rolfe's Varina Farms plantation, where the tiny village was also the first county seat (from 1634 to 1752).
• The abandoned corridor planned for State Route 288 in western Henrico County became a connector street, rather than a limited-access highway. It was named the John Rolfe Parkway.

Rolfe in fiction

Rolfe appears in the 2005 film The New World, in which he is played by Christian Bale.In the cartoon "Pocahontas 2", he was voiced by Billy Zane.

External links

• Living History Associates Ltd. John Rolfe Portrayed by Dick Cheatham

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