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# Tobacco Colonies

## Definition

Plantations in North America, particularly Virginia and Maryland, that produce tobacco for export to European markets. Tobacco cultivation represents a specialized form of agriculture that can command high rents due to the value of the crop and the limited suitable land.

## Source Chapter

Book I, Chapter 11

## Context

Smith discusses tobacco colonies as another example of specialized agricultural production that can command rents exceeding those of ordinary agricultural land, though typically not as high as sugar colonies due to greater competition and more widely available suitable land.

## Economic Domain

Production

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