Courses
Courses for Kids
Free study material
Offline Centres
More
Store Icon
Store
seo-qna
SearchIcon
banner

What were the biggest crops in the Southern Colonies?

Answer
VerifiedVerified
515.7k+ views
Hint: Coastal plains and piedmont districts make up the majority of the southern colonies. The soil was suitable for agriculture, and the climate was pleasant, with hot summers and mild winters. The growing season was longer in this area than in any other.

Complete answer:
Agriculture (farming) was the central part of the southern colonies' economy. Many of the colonists who came to the southern colonies were rich English aristocrats or merchants who wished to maximize their fortune by buying land. Since the flat land was ideal for planting, landowners constructed massive plantations.

The crops that were grown were referred to as cash crops because they were cultivated with the intention of being sold to others. Cotton, rice, tobacco, and indigo (a plant used to make blue dye) were among the southern colonists' cash crops.

Tobacco was the biggest cash crop in Virginia and Maryland. Indigo and rice were the major cash crops in South Carolina and Georgia. The cash crops grown in each colony were determined by the crop that grew best in that colony's soil type. The southern colonies had smaller towns and cities because cultivation required a lot of land that was spread out.

Therefore, it was found that cotton, rice, tobacco, and indigo were the biggest crops in the Southern Colonies.

Note: The colonies of Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia make up the southern colonies. In 1619, the first slaves were bought in Jamestown. Plantation owners were low on staff and wanted to recruit more. This was the origin of the slave trade. Slaves were transported from Africa in large numbers.