Tobacco Inspection Act

Last updated

The Tobacco Inspection Act of 1730 (popularly known as the Tobacco Inspection Act [1] ) was a 1730 English law designed to improve the quality of tobacco exported from Colonial Virginia. Proposed by Virginia Lieutenant Governor Sir William Gooch, the law was far-reaching in impact in part because it gave warehouses the power to destroy substandard crops and issue bills of exchange that served as currency. [2] The law centralized the inspection of tobacco at 40 locations described in the law. [3]

Contents

The 1730 warehouse law built on prior laws. The warehouse act of 1712 provided for the regulation of public warehouses. This warehouse act was amended in 1720 giving the county courts the authority to order warehouses inconvenient to the landings discontinued. [4]

Public warehouses

The book Tobacco in Colonial Virginia ("The Sovereign Remedy") by Melvin Herndon [5] describes operation of the public warehouses as follows:

In 1730 the most comprehensive inspection bill ever introduced, passed the General Assembly. The common knowledge that the past and present inspection laws had failed to prevent the importation of unmarketable tobacco, plus a long depression, had changed the attitude of many of the influential planters and merchants. Nevertheless, the act did meet with opposition from some of the English customs officials and a few of the large planters. Soon after the passage of this new inspection law a prominent planter wrote complainingly to a London merchant, "This Tobo hath passed the Inspection of our new law, every hogshead was cased and viewed by which means the tobacco was very much tumbled and made something less sightly than it was before and it causes a great deal of extraordinary trouble". There were complaints that the new law destroyed tobacco that used to bring good money. Still another planter complained that the planter's name and evidence on the hogshead had much more effect on the price of the tobacco than the inspector's brand. While some of the planters expressed their disapproval of the new inspection law verbally, others resorted to violence. During the first year some villains burned two inspection houses, one in Lancaster County and another in Northumberland.

The inspection law passed in 1730 was frequently amended during the colonial period, but there were no changes in its essential features. The act provided that no tobacco was to be shipped except in hogsheads, cases, or casks, without having first passed an inspection at one of the legally established inspection warehouses; thus the shipment of bulk tobacco was prohibited. Two inspectors were employed at each warehouse, and a third was summoned in case of a dispute between the two regular inspectors. These officials were bonded and were forbidden under heavy penalties to pass bad tobacco, engage in the tobacco trade, or to take rewards. Tobacco offered in payment of debts, public or private, had to be inspected under the same conditions as that to be exported. The inspectors were required to open the hogshead, extract and carefully examine two samplings; all trash and unsound tobacco was to be burned in the warehouse kiln in the presence and with the consent of the owner. If the owner refused consent the entire hogshead was to be destroyed. After the tobacco was sorted, the good tobacco was repacked in the hogshead and the planter's distinguishing mark, net weight, tare (weight of the hogshead), and name of inspection warehouse were stamped on the hogshead.

Inspection locations

The law dictated [1] that public warehouses should be set up at the following locations:

XLIII. And for settling the number of public warehouses, and appointing the places where the same shall be kept, pursuant to this act, Be it enacted and declared, That a public warehouse or warehouses shall be kept, and the same are hereby appointed to be kept at the following places, to wit:

For the counties of Goochland, and Henrico; at Warwick, upon Howlet's land; and Shockoe's upon Col. Byrd's land, under one inspection.
At Bermuda Hundred, upon William Eppes's lots; and Turkey Island, upon Col. Randolph's land, in Henrico county, another inspection.
In Prince George; at Appamatox Point, upon Col. Bolling's land; on Col. Robert Mumford's land; and Powel's Creek; upon Mr. Bland's land, under one inspection.
At Cabbin Point, in Surry; and Merchants Brandon, in Prince George County, under one inspection.
At Gray's Creek, in Surry, where the Agents houses were, and Warricksqueak Bay, in Isle of Wight County, under one inspection.
At Swineherd's and Mr. John Soan's, in Charles City County, under one inspection.
At Waynwright's Landing, Isle of Wight; and Laurence's, in Nansemond County, under one inspection.
At the widow Constance's, at Sleepy-Hole Point, in Nansemond County, under one inspection.
At Norfolk Town, upon the fort land, in the County of Norfolk; and Kemp's Landing, in Princess Anne, under one inspection.
At Hampton, in Elizabeth City, upon Mr. Miles's lot, at Warwick Town, in the County of Warwick, upon Mr. Gough's lots; and at Charles river, Roe's storehouse, in the county of York, under one inspection.
At Hog-Neck, in James City County; and at Taskanask, in New Kent, upon William Morris's land;
and the Colledge, and Capitol landings, upon Mr. Holloway's land, under one inspection.
At the town of York, where the agents house was; and at Gloucester town, upon capt. Hannar's land, under one inspection.
At Deacon's Neck, and Poropotank, in Gloucester County, where the agents house was, under one inspection.
At Crutchfield's, upon Col. Page's land; and Mr. David Merriwether's in Hanover County, under one inspection.
At Todd's, in King and Queen; and Aylett's warehouse, in King William County, under one inspection.
At John Quarle's in King William; and at Mantapike, and Shepherd's in King and Queen County, under one inspection.
At Chamberlain's in New Kent; and Williams's ferry, in King William, under one inspection.
At Urbanna, where the agents house was; and major Kemp's, in Middlesex County, under one inspection.
At Hobb's Hole, upon the lands of James Griffin; and at Bowler's ferry, upon Adams's land, in Essex, under one inspection.
At Naylor's Hole, upon William Fantleroy's land, where his prise houses now are; and the mouth of Totaskey, at Newman Brokenborough's landing, in Richmond County; both under one inspection.
At Layton's, in Essex; upon Maddox Creek, at Martin's, in Westmoreland; and Bray's Church, [6] in King George County, under one inspection.
At Falmouth, upon Mr. Todd's lots in King George; and at Fredericksburg, upon Mr. Francis Willis's lots, in Spotsylvania County, under one inspection.
At William Glascock's landing, in Richmond; and at the Rolling House, upon Deep Creek, in Lancaster County, under one inspection.
At Corotoman, at Queen's Town, where the agents houses were; and on the land where the widow Davis lives, in Lancaster; and the Indian Creek, at the warehouses, in Northumberland County, under one inspection.
At Wiccocomico, at Robert Jones's; and at Coan, at the warehouses in Northumberland, under one inspection.
At Nominy, upon Patrick Spence's land; and Yeo-comico, at the warehouse, in Westmoreland County, under one inspection.
At Boyd's Hole, upon col. Fitzhugh's land; and Marlborough Town, in Stafford County, under one inspection.
At Quantico, upon Robert Brent's land; and great Hunting Creek, upon Broadwater's land, in Prince William County, under one inspection.
At John Roy's and Mr. Francis Conway's in Caroline, and at Gibson's in King George county, under one inspection.
At Cherrystone's, at John Watersons; at Nasswaddock's, at the Joiner's landing; and at Hungers, at George Harmanson's, in Northampton County, under one inspection.
On the head of Pungoteague, at Addison's landing; at Pitt's landing, upon Pokomoke; at Guilford, at Mr. Andrew's warehouse landing, in the county of Accomack, under one inspection.

See also

Tobacco in the American Colonies

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colony of Virginia</span> British colony in North America (1606-1776)

The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colony in North America. It followed failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey Gilbert in 1583 and the Roanoke Colony by Sir Walter Raleigh in the late 1580s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Province of Maryland</span> British colony in North America (1632–1776)

The Province of Maryland was an English and later British colony in North America that existed from 1632 until 1776, when it joined the other twelve of the Thirteen Colonies in rebellion against Great Britain and became the U.S. state of Maryland. Its first settlement and capital was St. Mary's City, in the southern end of St. Mary's County, which is a peninsula in the Chesapeake Bay and is also bordered by four tidal rivers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Byrd II</span> American planter

William Byrd II was an American planter, lawyer, surveyor, author, and a man of letters. Born in Colonial Virginia, he was educated in London, where he practiced law. Upon his father's death, he returned to Virginia in 1705. He was a member of the Virginia Governor's Council from 1709 to 1744. He was the London agent for the House of Burgesses in the 1720s. Byrd's life showed aspects of both British colonial gentry and an emerging American identity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nansemond County, Virginia</span>

Nansemond is an extinct jurisdiction that was located south of the James River in Virginia Colony and in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States, from 1646 until 1974. It was known as Nansemond County until 1972. From 1972 to 1974, a period of eighteen months, it was the independent city of Nansemond. It is now part of the independent city of Suffolk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isham Randolph of Dungeness</span> American planter, grandfather of Thomas Jefferson

Isham Randolph was a planter, a merchant, a public official, and a shipmaster. He was the maternal grandfather of United States President Thomas Jefferson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Carter I</span> American businessman and politician

Robert "King" Carter was a merchant, planter and powerful politician in colonial Virginia. Born in Lancaster County, Carter eventually became one of the richest men in the Thirteen Colonies. As President of the Virginia Governor's Council, Carter served as the royal governor of Virginia from 1726 to 1727 after the previous governor, Hugh Drysdale, died in office. He acquired the moniker "King" from fellow Virginians in his lifetime connoting his wealth, autocratic business methods and political power. Carter also served as the colony's Treasurer, many terms in the House of Burgesses and twice fellow members elected him as their Speaker.

The James River Bateau was a shallow draft river craft used during the period from 1775 to 1840 to transport tobacco and other cargo on the James River and its tributaries in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It was flat bottomed and pointed at both ends. The length of the bateau varied greatly, 58 feet (18 m) being a common length. The bateau was propelled by bateaumen pushing with long sturdy poles. Alternate spellings of bateau include batteau, batoe and the plurals bateaux, batoes, and batteaux. Bateau is the French word for boat. In the colonial days, bateaus were used extensively in rivers throughout the eastern part of the United States, but the coverage of this article is confined to those that plied the James River in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir William Gooch, 1st Baronet</span> British Army general

Sir William Gooch, 1st Baronet was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Virginia from 1727 to 1749. Technically, Gooch only held the title of Royal Lieutenant Governor, but the nominal governors, Lord Orkney and Lord Albemarle, were in England and did not exercise much authority. Gooch's tenure as governor was characterized by his unusual political effectiveness.

Kempsville is a borough in the City of Virginia Beach, Virginia, a historic section with origins in US colonial times located in the former Princess Anne County. In modern times, it is a community within the urbanized portion of the independent city of Virginia Beach, the largest city in Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King William County, Virginia</span> County in Virginia, United States

King William County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,810. Its county seat is King William.

Aylett is an unincorporated community in King William County, Virginia, United States. It is located where Virginia State Route 360 crosses the Mattaponi River. William Aylett and his family had several prominent warehouses and mills in the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tobacco in the American colonies</span>

Tobacco cultivation and exports formed an essential component of the American colonial economy. During the Civil War, they were distinct from other cash crops in terms of agricultural demands, trade, slave labor, and plantation culture. Many influential American revolutionaries, including Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, owned tobacco plantations, and were financially devastated by debt to British tobacco merchants shortly before the American Revolution.

The Wicocomico, Wiccocomoco, Wighcocomoco, or Wicomico were an Algonquian-speaking tribe who lived in Northumberland County, Virginia, at the head and slightly north of the Little Wicomico River. They were the first native people on the mainland encountered by Captain John Smith, prior to his famous interaction with Pamunkee and Pocahontas of the Powhatan people. Due to constant encroachment and manipulation by settlers, opportunists and Captain Smith, as well as internal conflict regarding how to respond to these, the tribe splintered. The colonial court of Virginia ordered them to merge with a smaller tribe and renamed the Wicocomico. They were assigned a flag -- and a reservation of 4,400 acres (18 km2) near Dividing Creek, south of the Great Wicomico River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pungoteague Creek</span>

Pungoteague Creek is a creek in Accomack County, Virginia, United States. Pungoteague Creek Light and Pungoteague, Virginia are named after this creek.

The Burwells were among the First Families of Virginia in the Colony of Virginia. John Quincy Adams once described the Burwells as typical Virginia aristocrats of their period: forthright, bland, somewhat imperious and politically simplistic by Adams' standards. In 1713, so many Burwells had intermarried with the Virginia political elite that Governor Spotswood complained that " the greater part of the present Council are related to the Family of Burwells...there will be no less than seven so near related that they will go off the Bench whenever a Cause of the Burwells come to be tried."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Alexandria, Virginia</span>

The history of Alexandria, Virginia, begins with the first European settlement in 1695. Over the next century, the town became a significant port. In 1801, much of Alexandria was swept into the new District of Columbia; it was damaged along with much of the rest of the capital during the War of 1812. In 1846, Alexandria was returned to Virginia, along with the rest of the District's territory on the western side of the Potomac River. After Virginia seceded in 1861, Alexandria was swiftly captured by Union forces and held for the remainder of the American Civil War. In the late 20th century, Alexandria became a key part of the rapidly growing Northern Virginia region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hanover Town, Virginia</span> Archaeological site in Virginia, United States

Hanover Town is a former colonial-era town in Hanover County, Virginia. It was located on the upper Pamunkey River on land originally granted to John Page in 1672. Before being called Hanover Town, the location was originally known as "Page's Warehouse." By the time of the 1730 Tobacco Inspection Act there was a tobacco warehouse at the site, referred to as "Crutchfield's" after the tobacco inspector John Crutchfield. The town was chartered in 1762. The town was raided by British forces during the American Revolutionary War, and its fortunes declined in the years after independence because of silting in the river, resulting in its eventual abandonment.

Totuskey Creek is a tributary of the Rappahannock River located in Richmond County, Virginia. The creek meets the river near Wellford, Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Powell's Creek (James River tributary)</span> River in Virginia, United States

Powell's Creek is a tributary of the James River on the south side of the James River in Prince George County, Virginia, United States. The creek borders James River National Wildlife Refuge near Garysville, Virginia.

Colonel William Tayloe also known as William Teylow, was a British immigrant, colonist, and planter, from Gloucester, England, who emigrated to the British Colony of Virginia and resided in York County. His coat of arms, Vert a sword erect Or between two lions rampant addorsed Ermine, matches those of Teylow in Gloucester, England.

References

  1. 1 2 "An Act for amending the Staple of Tobacco; and for preventing Frauds in his Majesty's Customs (1730)". www.encyclopediavirginia.org.
  2. Richmond during the Colonial Period
  3. "History of Tobacco Regulation - Regulation of Production". www.druglibrary.org.
  4. "The warehouse movement kept pace". www.freefictionbooks.org.
  5. "Info" (PDF). www.gutenberg.org. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  6. "Leedstown". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2015.

Further reading