ABSTRACT
Colonial America was overwhelmingly rural. In fact, just before the American Revolution, more than 90 percent of the population could be considered rural. Rural laborers, whether enslaved, indentured, or free, raised the crops and livestock that drove the economies of many Atlantic colonies. Their experiences are crucial to understanding what life was like for ordinary people in Britain's North American mainland colonies. The experience of colonial rural labor varied according to region, crop, and whether one was free or not.
