A plantation is a large farm that mass produces a cash crop using a large labor force. The first were the latifundia in the Roman Empire which produced wine and olive oil. Later, the Spanish and Portuguese created plantations on Atlantic islands. Most were sugar cane plantations. It was quickly determined that white indentured servants refused to work on them and natives were not an efficient work force. African slaves were the answer. The first in the Thirteen Colonies were in Virginia. Tobacco was the first crop. Cotton was not grown on a plantation until the 1800’s. The invention of the cotton gin made the production much more efficient and slavery a profitable labor source. Other crops that were rice, sugar cane, and indigo. The worst for slaves was sugar cane where they had to work in gangs.
A Louisiana Plantation
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