In 1533, Kind Henry VIII made the cultivation of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) compulsory by law.
The Tudor King wanted the strong, rot resistance fibres from the plant for the ropes, sails and clothing for his new British Navy. The Navy which famously beat the Spanish Armada, got us through the Reformation (The Brexit of the time) and led to the British Empire.
Every ship carried a cargo of hemp seed and this was the first crop laid down upon the discovery of the new lands.