The Planters of Colonial Virginia reconstructs how tobacco, land, and labor shaped the Chesapeake from the mid-seventeenth to early eighteenth centuries. Wertenbaker follows the planter class from scattered riverside settlements to a self-conscious gentry, explaining the headright system, land speculation, county courts, parish governance, and ties to London factors. In supple prose that fuses economic and social analysis, he charts the shift from indentured servitude to racial slavery, the rhythms of plantation management, and the making of a hierarchical rural society. Composed in the early twentieth century, the book reoriented colonial historiography toward socioeconomic explanation. Thomas Jefferson Wertenbaker, the Princeton historian renowned for mining parish rolls, probate inventories, and county minute books, brings a Southerner's familiarity with the Chesapeake to his subject. His training in careful archival method and his progressive-era interest in material forces and class formation converge here, yielding a grounded interpretation of Virginia society's foundations. Recommended to readers of colonial, Atlantic, and Southern history, this classic remains a valuable point of departure. Read it as both foundational synthesis and artifact of its time—its language and treatment of the enslaved reflect early twentieth‑century conventions—then pair it with newer work to gauge the planter regime's emergence and endurance. Quickie Classics summarizes timeless works with precision, preserving the author's voice and keeping the prose clear, fast, and readable—distilled, never diluted. Enriched Edition extras: Introduction · Synopsis · Historical Context · Brief Analysis · 4 Reflection Q&As · Editorial Footnotes.