GEOG 1700 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Highbeam Research
Emma Rosa
Dean Hanink
Geography Assignment Three
How did the long-term reliance on a plantation economy influence settlement patterns in the
Caribbean?
A plantation economy is when a specific economy relies mainly on the production of one
major crop; an example of this is sugar. This is in connection with slavery; African labor was
used to harvest these crops, like sugar, to keep the economy growing and intact. The book,
“Globalization and Diversity Geography of a Changing World”, states that, “The term plantation
America is meant to describe not a race-based division of the Americas, but rather a production
system that brought about specific ecological, social, and economic relations.” (Rowntree,
Lewis, Price, Wyckoff 153-154).
Due to the long-term reliance on a plantation economy, this influenced the settlement
patterns in the Caribbean. Many of the farmers, who were also descendants of former slaves,
still work on their farms (Rowntree, Lewis, Price, Wyckoff 153-154). However, I think that if
the economy was not as reliant on plantation economy and switched to relying on something
else, such as manufacturing for example, then the people would probably have settled closer
together and built factories and cities. Instead, the Caribbean has many rural communities that
are loosely organized and also has little farms wherever the land is available (Rowntree, Lewis,
Price, Wyckoff 153-154).
A quote from the article, “Plantation Economy Model”, to support the theory of
plantation economy influencing settlement patterns is, “The plantation economy model posits
