The colonists went to Virginia during the 1600's because they wanted to explore gold in the area. Unfortunately, no gold was found in Virginia. However, they found that the tobacco crop would be a profitable industry. Tobacco plantations require manual labor and this is maintained by Virginia's labor force, which are mainly composed by slaves and servants.
In the 1600s, Virginia attracted many colonists because of its incredible economic success in the tobacco industry. It's economy was booming thanks to tobacco exports, which was highly appealing to many settlers.
Rise of merchants, idea of where wealth equals power. Mercantilism to capitalism. Factors such as Social Darwinism, nationalism, and the civilizing mission were factors that contributed to imperialism in this period.
