Plantation

Plantations are farms covering a large land area that are usually devoted to growing a single crop that will be sold for cash. They are classified according to the manner in which they employ laborers, or according to the kind of crop that is grown. The crops grown are usually something other than a cereal grain or pasture for cattle. Sometimes, orchards may be classified as plantations, especially if nuts are grown.

The English in Northern Ireland first developed plantations. Colonists were “planted” in Ireland on land that had been lost by the Irish in fighting against the English and the Scots. These and other Europeans and their descendants brought the plantation system to the Americas. These plantations resembled ancient latifundia in the Mediterranean, which were ...