plantation

A large farm used for raising cash crops such as sugar cane, rice, coffee, indigo, tobacco, or tea. In  the colonial era, the labor on these forms often came from enslaved people or indentured servants who had no choice about working and earned no money for their time. Consequently many people refer to plantations today by the more honest term “labor camps.”

Clark, “Cutting the Sugar Cane.” Antigua 1823. Courtesy the British Library.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *