In May of 1609, Englishman John Rolfe boarded the Sea Venture, en route to colonial Virginia, where he stepped foot into history. Of the 500 prospective settlers, only 150 safely reached shore after the fleet was scattered due to a massive hurricane. While stranded on the island of Bermuda for a grueling 10 months, Rolfe’s first wife and child passed away, never making it to colonial soil. In the spring of 1610, the remaining survivors managed to fashion two small ships, the Patience and Deliverance out of the wreckage. After 10 more days of successful sailing, they finally reached the Chesapeake Bay. When Rolfe and the Sea Venture survivors made contact, they were not greeted with the prosperous colony that they had been pining for, but a …show more content…
The couple spent many months living in the high societies in London. Pocahontas was exceedingly well received in court, having been granted audiences with King James I and the bishop of London. Her presence presumably improved the image of Virginia for the down-trodden company investors. Unfortunately, seven months later, Pocahontas fell ill and died at Gravesend. Rolfe entrusted his son, who had also fallen quite ill to the care of Sir Lewis Stuckley, and he returned to his adoptive home of Virginia alone. Prior to his first departure to England, Rolfe held public office. He assumed the positions of secretary and recorder general of the colony, and became a member of the governor’s council. Upon his return, he also took a seat as a member of the House of Burgesses. He once again remarried, this time the daughter of a colonist by the name of Jane Pierce. Rolfe also redirected his attention back to the roots of his success, focusing once more on the quality and quantity of Virginia grown tobacco. By 1617, a mere seven years since his arrival to Jamestown, tobacco exports to England amounted to over 20,000 pounds, doubling that number in the next year. By 1630, one and a half million pounds of the tobacco that Rolfe pioneered had been exported, marking the establishment of the first great American enterprise. John Rolfe died at some point in 1622, although the cause is unclear, as a third of the colonial population was killed in an Indian uprising that same year. Although, one thing is clear: Rolfe’s success and innovation did not die with him. John Rolfe throughout history has been overshadowed by his wife Pocahontas. There is no classic Disney film dedicated to him, after all. Regardless, he was crucial in establishing Virginia’s cash crop, and ultimately its economy, for the union that ended the Frist Anglo-Powhatan War, and for his overall