In Colonial America, laborers were a. in abundance b. paid good wages c. in short supply
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Answer: c. in short supply
In Colonial America, laborers were generally in short supply. This shortage was due to several factors, including the vast amount of land available compared to the size of the European-descended population at the time. Many people who came to the colonies were able to acquire land and thus had an incentive to work for themselves as farmers or to start their own enterprises rather than work for wages as laborers for others. Additionally, harsh conditions, the inherent risks of frontier life, and the lack of established communities in many areas made it difficult to attract and retain workers.
Extra: The scarcity of laborers in Colonial America played a significant role in the social and economic development of the colonies. To address the labor shortage, colonists employed several strategies:
1. **Indentured Servants**: Many laborers who came to the colonies did so as indentured servants, agreeing to work for a set number of years in exchange for passage to the New World and the promise of land or wages upon completing their term of service.
2. **Slavery**: As the demand for labor continued to grow, especially in the labor-intensive tobacco and rice plantations of the South, colonists increasingly turned to the enslavement of Africans. This practice became a central part of colonial economy and society, with an enduring legacy of racial inequality.
3. **Immigration**: Various efforts were made to encourage more immigrants to come to America, especially those who could be persuaded to work as laborers or who would become tenant farmers.
4. **Domestic and Native Labor**: Some colonial employers also turned to local populations, including women, children, and Native Americans, to meet their labor needs in various capacities.
Understanding this labor context is critical to grasping the social structure and economy of the colonial period, as well as the significant regional differences between the Northern and Southern colonies. The labor needs and solutions, to some extent, cemented the North's trajectory towards a more diverse economy with industrial and commercial bases, while the South grew increasingly reliant on plantation agriculture fueled by slave labor.