"South Carolina was the first of the colonies to successfully grow indigo — a crop so vital to the colony's economy that it was referred to as "blue gold." Indigo's production, and subsequent success in the colonies, is attributed to teenager Eliza Lucas (later Eliza Pinckney), whose father shipped indigo seeds to America from Antigua in the 1730s. Her father also hired Nicholas Cromwell, a dye-making expert from Montserrat, to guide her. Cromwell was caught sabotaging the dye-making process and was dismissed, only to be replaced by his brother Patrick, who was also caught sabotaging Lucas' production efforts. The Cromwell brothers had good reason for concern: Indigo dye was a major export for Montserrat and competition with South Carolina could ruin the island's economy. Despite the setbacks, Lucas and the enslaved people on her father's plantations learned how to successfully process the subtropical bush. They were so successful that when Lucas married Charles Pinckney in 1744, she used her indigo crop as dowry, and the couple shared their seeds with other plantation owners. However, Indigo's success was dependent on the labor of the enslaved people on the plantations, and the increasing demand for the dye in England unfortunately led to an increase in the number of enslaved laborers to keep up with production. " Were you aware of indigo's importance to the colony?