Final answer:
The cultivation of tobacco required a significant amount of labor, leading to the development of the headright system to attract workers and ultimately the expansion of the African slave trade to fulfill labor needs on plantations, with tobacco production influencing socioeconomic structure and land expansion in the colonies.
Step-by-step explanation:
The profitable cultivation of tobacco created a high demand for labor in the colonies, specifically in the Chesapeake area. Growing and processing tobacco was a labor-intensive process that involved clearing land, caring for plants, and curing the harvested leaves, all of which required extensive manpower. To meet this demand, the headright system was introduced, which awarded land to both immigrants and those who paid for their passage, in an attempt to attract more laborers. Despite these efforts, there were still not enough workers. This, combined with the depletion of soil nutrients due to tobacco cultivation, led to the expansion of the African slave trade in the 1700s where enslaved persons were used on plantations to produce tobacco and other raw materials for European factories.
James Duke played a significant role in transforming the tobacco industry by marketing cigarettes heavily and altering public perception, ultimately making tobacco one of the few growth industries controlled almost exclusively by Southerners.