Tobacco brides


In 1619, 90 young single women from England went to Jamestown to become wives of the men there, with the women being auctioned off for 150 pounds of tobacco each, as that was the cost of each woman's travel to America. All 90 of them did indeed become wives. The youngest, Jane Dier, had been fifteen or sixteen years old when she left, and one of the oldest, Alice Burges, was twenty-eight. Most of their fathers had died. Such voyagers were called tobacco brides and 150 pounds of tobacco was the typical auction price for them, although they usually had the right to refuse the highest bidder. However, tobacco brides were often sent to America against their will, and often sent at very young ages. There were many women and girls who went to America for this purpose, with the women and girls promised free passage and trousseaus for their trouble. Many tobacco brides came to America fleeing hardship, but many also suffered once in America. 144 tobacco brides were brought to Jamestown by the Virginia Company between 1619 and 1622, but only thirty-five of them lived through their first six years in America.