In divergence to the northern and middle colonies, the
southern and Chesapeake colonies, as well as Maryland, were mainly rural
settlements. Maryland quickly prospered because, like its neighbor, Virginia,
its economy was based on tobacco. The Chesapeake and North Carolina colonies
were the example for large plantations and plantation-based economies. By
growing a soon-to-be cash crop, these colonies required a lot of attention and hands-on
labor that was supplied by enslaved Africans. These colonies helped expand
Colonial America's export economy and other nations' dependence on similar
crops and/or products grown here.
