FIGURE 2.2 Chesapeake Whites: Workers, Dependents, and Indentured Servants, 1640–1700
The Chesapeake’s white population grew tenfold in the years after 1640, and it also changed significantly in character. As more women migrated to Virginia and Maryland and bore children, the percentage of the population who worked in the fields daily fell dramatically, from 75 percent to 46 percent. The proportion of indentured servants in the labor force likewise declined, from 30 percent to 10 percent.