The early plantation economies emerged in the Atlantic world from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and became one of the most important features of the economic transformation associated with the rise of the modern West. Plantations were large agricultural estates established mainly in tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas and other colonial territories for the production of commercial crops. Their development was closely connected with European overseas expansion, the growth of long-distance trade, colonialism, and the increasing demand for commodities such as sugar, tobacco, cotton, coffee, and indigo. The plantation economy was therefore not simply an agricultural system; it was an economic and social institution that linked European markets, colonial territories, African labour, and Atlantic trade. The origins of plantation economies can be traced to the expansion of European maritime powers after the voyages of exploration. Portuguese and Spanish expansion created new colonial territories and encouraged the production of valuable commodities for European markets. The Portuguese developed plantation agriculture on Atlantic islands such as Madeira and São Tomé, particularly for sugar production. These experiences provided an important model for the later development of plantation economies in the Caribbean and the Americas. As European powers established colonies across the Atlantic, plantation agriculture became increasingly important as a means of extracting wealth from overseas territories. The most distinctive feature of the early plantation economy was its orientation towards commercial production. Unlike subsistence agriculture, which was primarily intended to meet local consumption needs, plantations were established to produce crops for distant markets. Sugar was particularly important because European demand for sugar increased significantly from the sixteenth century onwards. Tobacco also became an important cash crop, especially in the English colonies of North America. Later, coffee, cotton, indigo, and