Alexander Spotswood (1676-1740) was the lieutenant governor of
Virginia from 1710 to 1722. The nominal governor, George
Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney, never visited the colony, leaving
Spotswood in control as one of the longest acting governors of
the colonial period. Under his direction, the Tobacco Act of
1713 was passed, requiring the inspection of all tobacco
intended for export and the destruction of tobacco not meeting
government standards. Like the other Crown-appointed governors
to Virginia, Spotswood spent his term in office wrestling with
the wealthy planters that dominated the House of Burgesses for
political control of the colony. He attempted to court small
farmers by proposing measures that would have forced large
planters to put portions of their uncultivated land onto the
market. But his proposal was defeated. He then took the opposite
course and attempted to raise the property requirement for
voting. Members of the House of Burgesses used this to portray
him as an enemy of representative gover