The primary export of the colony of Virginia in the 17th century was tobacco. Introduced to the colony in the early 1600s, tobacco quickly became a cash crop, driving the colony's economy and attracting large numbers of settlers and investors. The cultivation of tobacco required extensive labor, leading to the importation of indentured servants and, later, enslaved Africans. By the end of the century, Virginia had established itself as the leading tobacco producer in the British colonies, significantly shaping its economic and social structures and contributing to the broader colonial economy of America.