Final answer:
Initially, Chesapeake Bay tobacco planters used indentured servants for labor, but as the demand for tobacco grew, they transitioned towards a labor force composed predominantly of African slaves.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Chesapeake Bay tobacco planters initially relied on indentured servants as their main labor source. Young, mostly male English migrants signed contracts called indentures, binding them to employers for a number of years in exchange for passage to America.
This arrangement filled the labor vacuum and was supplemented by the 'headright policy' which provided land incentives for immigration and labor.
As tobacco demand surged, the reliance on indentured servitude transitioned towards permanent, inexpensive labor through slavery. By the end of the seventeenth century, Chesapeake colonies had established a permanent slave class, shifting the labor force primarily to African slaves.