Doing Business by Sail: When an Order Took a Year

Imagine placing an order with a supplier and waiting nearly a year for delivery — then paying with paper backed by tobacco.

That was business in colonial America.

In the 1700s, a merchant ordering goods from England had to wait weeks just for a letter to cross the Atlantic. The return shipment could take months more, depending on weather, war, port delays, and luck.

Money was another challenge. Hard currency was scarce, so merchants often used bills of exchange, which were paper promises tied to goods already shipped across the ocean. In Virginia, tobacco itself was used as money. Massachusetts issued paper currency as early as 1690.

A planter might ship tobacco to a London agent, who sold it months later and credited the proceeds toward goods the planter had already ordered. That slow system kept trade moving, but it also left many colonists deep in debt to British merchants.

Still, the system worked well enough to build major colonial ports, such as Boston, where long-distance trade helped fuel growth.

The lesson for business owners today is simple: supply chains have always been hard.