what crops were vital to the success of the southern colonies
Colonial South and the Chesapeake Though indigo and rice were also grown, the demand for tobacco and the ease with which it grew turned tobacco into the largest cash crop for the Chesapeake and southern colonies. The desirable niche that tobacco held in the world market resulted in great prosperity for the regions in which it was grown.
Columbian exchange Several plants native to the Americas have spread around the world, including potato, maize, tomato, and tobacco.[5] Before 1500, potatoes were not grown outside of South America. By the 1840s, Ireland was so dependent on the potato that the proximate cause of the Great Famine was a potato disease.[6] Potatoes eventually became an important staple of the diet in much of Europe, contributing to about 25% of the population growth in Afro-Eurasia between 1700 and 1900.[7] Many European rulers, including Frederick the Great of Prussia and Catherine the Great of Russia, encouraged the cultivation of the potato.[8]