Final answer:
Land in Maryland was mainly disturbed due to the agricultural expansion for tobacco farming, which created a high demand for labor and resulted in an increased reliance on the labor of indentured servants and slaves. over time, as European servants became less available African slaves grew to constitute the majority of the labor force.
Step-by-step explanation:
Land in Maryland was disturbed due to agricultural expansion, particularly for the cultivation of tobacco, which was the colony's primary crop. To meet the high demand for labor on tobacco plantations, there was a significant shift in the labor force. During the seventeenth century, indentured laborers, who were mostly white, were the primary source of labor. However, as the colony's dependence on tobacco grew, so did the need for permanent, inexpensive labor, leading to a greater reliance on enslaved Africans. Indentured servants and slaves were affected by this disturbance of land as the demand for their labor increased.
On one hand, European servants became scarce and expensive, and on the other hand, African labor became more prominent. In the 1660s, legislation in Maryland enacted laws that made slavery heritable, meaning those who were born to slaves would remain slaves for life and that status was regardless of race or conversion to Christianity.By the early 1700s, the majority of bound laborers in Maryland were enslaved Africans, and this shift in labor dynamics had profound effects on the lives, opportunities, and rights of indentured servants and slaves alike. The increasing establishment of slavery as a permanent institution led to the disruption of the potential for freedom and advancement for African immigrants and their descendants.