Colonial Society and Culture Practice Test

A historian summarizes Chesapeake society (1607–1754): high mortality and dispersed plantations encouraged late-forming, fragile nuclear families; the Anglican Church was established but parish life was uneven; tobacco wealth concentrated land and political power among large planters, while indentured servants and, increasingly after the 1660s, enslaved Africans labored at the bottom. Which choice best characterizes a social pattern described in this summary?

Secondary-source excerpt (colonial society, 1607–1754): Colonial social hierarchy was neither fixed nor equal. Large landowners, merchants, and officeholders claimed deference, while small farmers, artisans, servants, and enslaved people faced legal and economic constraints. Yet mobility existed: apprentices could become masters, and some immigrants acquired land over time. Community reputation, church standing, and access to credit shaped one’s prospects, even as race-based slavery increasingly limited opportunity for Africans and their descendants.

Which choice best characterizes a colonial social pattern in the excerpt?