Plantation: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Photos and Videos

cotton plantation

Rows of tall coconut palm trees grow on a plantation near Luganville, Espiritu Santo Island, Vanuatu, with a dirt path running through the grove.

Three Vietnamese women wearing conical hats pick tea leaves among green tea bushes on terraced hillsides in Lam Dong province, Vietnam, with trees and fields in the background.

How the Whitney Plantation teaches the history of slavery

The remarkable resilience of enslaved people in colonial America

See All Videos and Images →

Topics

farm estate Origins of agriculture Intensive animal farming Regenerative agriculture Aquaponics Milpa Sustainable agriculture collectivization Permaculture Subsistence farming Ranch enclosure

Key People

John Rolfe

John Rolfe

British colonial official

William Byrd of Westover

William Byrd of Westover

American colonial diarist

Frontispiece and title page of Phillis Wheatley's book of poetry, "Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral" 1773. Phillis Wheatley (c. 1753-1784). African American slave. Black woman poet.

Slavery and Resistance Through History Quiz