Who is credited with saving Jamestown by cultivating tobacco for profit?

Answer 1

John Rolfe " Early after their arrival in Virginia, colonists had noted that the Powhatan Indians used tobacco, which they called "uppowoc," in their ceremonies. However, the plant, Nicotiana rustica, had a bitter, unpleasant flavor to the English palate. Milder Nicotiana tabacum had long been grown in the Spanish West Indies, and the limited amount that had reached England had been enthusiastically consumed. John Rolfe deduced that he might be able to grow the imported Nicotiana tabacum, and began experimenting at his farm near present-day Varina in Henrico County. In 1614 he had raised and cured enough to fill four barrels for export to England, where it sold quickly and at a robust price of three shillings per pound. For his fellow desperate colonists, Rolfe's entrepreneurial gambit hit like a lightning bolt. Having failed to find the gold and other treasures envisioned by the backers of the Virginia Company, Virginia was holding on by a thread. The immense profits to be had by raising tobacco literally gave the colony a reason to continue. Soon every available piece of land was planted in tobacco, even the cemetery of Jamestown itself. By 1617-18 Virginians had produced 50,000 pounds of the leaf for export. A decade later, that figure would reach 250,000. In 1669, 15 million pounds of tobacco would be shipped to Britain." http://www.virginiabusiness.com/edit/magazine/yr2006/nov06/lookback.shtml

Answer 2

In 1612, James Rolfe introduced seeds for the Spanish-grown Nicotiana tabacum whose smoke was not as harsh as the Nicotiana rustica native to Virginia.