Answer:
The answer is: flue-cured tobacco - an innovation that led the state to become a tobacco-growing powerhouse
Explanation:
Tobacco is not native to Virginia, but it was being grown in North America by Native American farmers.Tobacco growing and processing dominated Virginia's economy for over three centuries, and transformed its landscape.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, North Carolina's economy was dwarfed by Virginia and South Carolina, Farms in North Carolina were disadvantaged by the quality of soil in the coastal plains, Many of these "yeoman" farmers produced some tobacco, but the quality was poor, and very little was exported.
Ironically, the innovation that put North Carolina as the leading tobacco producer, came from a slave, a man named Stephen. While curing a batch of tobacco in a smoky barn, he let the wood fire go out, and quickly restarted it with charcoal. The intense heat cured the tobacco quickly, turning it a vivid yellow. When this "brightleaf" tobacco was sold, and it proved appealing to smokers, and within a decade, flue-cured tobacco became one of the most common varieties in production. The rapid curing process was also particularly well-suited for tobacco grown in the sandy soil of the coastal plains. Suddenly, farms that were producing other crops turned to tobacco.
