<P> Plantation complexes in the Southern United States refers to the built environment ( or complex ) that was common on agricultural plantations in the American South from the 17th into the 20th century . The complex included everything from the main residence down to the pens for livestock . A plantation originally denoted a settlement in which settlers were `` planted '' to establish a colonial base . Southern plantations were generally self - sufficient settlements that relied on the forced labor of slaves , similar to the way that a medieval manorial estate relied upon the forced labor of serfs . </P>
who did much of the work in the fields and on the farms in jamestown
forced labor of slaves