Planters had two primary sources for their labor needs in the 1700's: slaves and indentured servants. Over time, the relative profitability of slavery and ability of European immigrants to find opportunities without indentured servitude meant that planters used slaves more and more, as opposed to indentured servants. Planters either obtained new slave labor from the children of slaves already living on the plantation, or the purchase of slaves at auctions, who either had already been in the Western Hemisphere or had been brought from Africa.
