Question

Initially this seen as a temporary crop until the colonists learned that they could diversify it wine and other food crops. Colonists wanted to grow this crop because it made them money in short time with little investment. What was this crop?

Answer 1

The crop referred to is tobacco, which became a highly lucrative cash crop for the English settlers in the American colonies, especially in the Chesapeake region.

Step-by-step explanation:

The crop that the student's question refers to is tobacco, which was an important cash crop for the English settlers in the American colonies. Initially seen as a temporary crop, tobacco cultivation proved to be highly lucrative and required minimal investment compared to growing luxury goods or other types of crops. The colonists in the Chesapeake colonies committed to tobacco production even when diversifying with grains and other food crops, as it provided significant financial returns in a short period of time. Initially, colonists in the southern colonies, such as Virginia, grew tobacco as a cash crop, which quickly drained the soil of nutrients and led to the expansion of settlements westward. Tobacco became a major commercial crop in the antebellum era, eclipsing other crops like rice and sugar.

Answer 2

Tobacco

Step-by-step explanation:

Tobacco, grown from seeds stolen from the Spanish, was the cash crop that saved the colonists in the New World. Because growing tobacco required lots of hard work and labor, more people were needed to work in the fields. The more workers one had, the more tobacco they could grow and the greater the profit they could gain.