Plantation Economies

Definition

Plantation economies refer to the economic system in the Southern United States during the 17th to 19th centuries. It was characterized by large-scale agriculture, primarily of cash crops like tobacco, cotton, and rice, which relied heavily on enslaved labor.

Analogy

Think of plantation economies as a factory production line. Just like how a factory uses machines for mass production, plantations used enslaved people to produce large quantities of crops. The plantation owners were like the factory bosses who profited from this system.

Related terms

Cash Crops: These are crops grown specifically for sale rather than for personal use by the farmer. In plantation economies, these included tobacco, cotton and rice.

Slave Labor: This refers to work done by enslaved people against their will under threat of punishment or violence. It was a key component of plantation economies.

Southern Colonies: These were British colonies located south of New England in North America that had fertile soil suitable for large-scale farming and thus developed plantation economies.