Final answer:
Prior to the establishment of slavery as the dominant labor source, English colonies struggled with the limitations of indentured servitude and the resistance from Native American populations. The labor demands for tobacco, sugar, and cotton cultivation led to the transition to a system of chattel slavery that defined Africans as property and racially stratified the society.
Step-by-step explanation:
Before slavery became the entrenched labor system in the English colonies, Europeans attempted to utilize indentured servitude and the enslavement of Native peoples as sources of labor for the growing agricultural economy. Indentured servants from Europe provided labor but their numbers were insufficient to meet the labor demands, especially as they eventually gained their freedom and joined the ranks of poor whites. Excessive reliance on indentured European labor led to unrest, as notably demonstrated by Bacon's Rebellion in 1676. Early attempts to enslave Native peoples were also problematic due to resistance and the impact of diseases on their populations.
Ultimately, the colonies transitioned to a labor force comprised overwhelmingly of African enslaved people, culminating in a rigid system of racial chattel slavery. This system legally defined African people as property, not human beings, solidifying a racial caste system and enabling a burgeoning economy in the colonies based on crops like tobacco, sugar, and later cotton, which all required intensive manual labor.