Plantation

Plantation, large farm on which a crop is planted, tended, and harvested by workers who live there. Plantations are most often in tropical or semitropical regions. Crops raised on plantations include cotton, tobacco, coffee, cocoa, tea, rubber, sugar-cane and tropical fruits. Most plantations specialize in one product. Many plantations developed by Europeans who colonized regions throughout the world, including America, were once worked by slaves and by servants who were indebted to the plantation owner. After slavery was abolished, plantations hired laborers who were paid very little or else received a share of the crop for their work. In modern times, the development of agricultural techniques has led many plantations to use more farm machinery and fewer workers.