EVOLUTION OF THE COTTON SYSTEM 37 



As Phillips has said: 



This usage of the word in the sense of a colony ended only 

 upon the rise of a new institution to which the original name 

 was applied. The colonies at large came then to be known 

 as provinces or dominions, while the sub-colonies, the pri- 

 vately owned village estates which prevailed in the South 

 were alone called plantations. 5 



The system of land grants made the plantation in- 

 evitable. Holdings of land were offered to colonizers in 

 proportion to the number of settlers they could bring 

 over. This was the method of arranging for the transpor- 

 tation of settlers. It also fitted in with a feudal society's 

 conception of landed estates. One proprietor, Lord Balti- 

 more, offered a thousand acres for every five settlers 

 brought over. It was understood that the land was to be 

 rented to the men who were brought over, and the rent 

 was to consist of a part of the produce, usually tobacco. 

 Thus we see that as early as 1636 6 a system of share 

 renting on large holdings had been introduced, and only 

 awaited the advent of slaves to become the plantation 

 system. 



The industrial history of America, like that of all new 

 countries, is to be understood in terms of rich natural 

 resources, scanty capital, and a labor supply totally in- 

 adequate for exploitation. It can easily be seen that the 

 developing of tobacco, rice, indigo, sugar, and cotton 

 culture would impress more and more upon the South the 

 demand for labor. The Virginia Colony around Chesa- 

 peake Bay had dragged out a most precarious existence 



6 American Negro Slavery, p. 309. 



6 W. B. Bizzell, Farm Tenantry in the United States, pp. 162-63. 



