Final answer:
Thomas possessed an economic motivation for settling in Jamestown, aiming to improve his fortunes through tobacco cultivation. Tobacco's profitability eventually saved the colony and helped establish the plantation system and slave trade, but also led to the devastation of the native population.
Step-by-step explanation:
The motivation for settlement that Thomas possessed was primarily economic. Like many of Jamestown's settlers, Thomas hoped to improve his financial status through hard work and the cultivation of tobacco. The settlers at Jamestown, often younger sons of elite families, were driven by the promise of wealth in the form of precious metals and profitable crops. However, they initially did not anticipate the strenuous labor that would be required. Despite early struggles, including starvation and conflict with the Powhatan Indians, the introduction of tobacco cultivation by John Rolfe ultimately turned the colony's fortunes around. This cash crop drove further colonization, the development of the plantation system, and an increase in the slave trade.
In pursuit of profits for the investors of the Virginia Company, the settlers found that growing tobacco was the most reliable source of income. The economic success of tobacco led to the implementation of the "headright system," aimed at increasing the labor force needed for the plantations by offering land to immigrants. The success of Jamestown, notwithstanding, came at a great cost to the native population, which was devastated by disease and conflict.