Tarpley, John A.

Robert Carter was the richest and most important man of his day in Virginia. At his death he owned at least 300,000 acres containing many farms and plantations that produced tobacco and other crops for sale, some 1,000 slaves to work those plantations, and large sums of money invested in Virginia and in England. Robert Carter was a member of the Council of Virginia, acting governor, a political power in the colony, and acquired land at a notable rate even in a time when such greedy acquisiton was common among his class. He had received a classical education in England, and corresponded widely both within the colony and with merchants in England.