1. societies or regions dominated by large plantation owners who hold political and economic power
Usage: historical; plural form

Examples

• The antebellum South was characterized by plantocracies that controlled local governments.
• Caribbean plantocracies wielded enormous influence over colonial policies.
• These plantocracies depended heavily on enslaved labor for their wealth.
• The political power of plantocracies began to decline after abolition.
• Historians study how plantocracies shaped early American society.
• Economic inequality was extreme in regions dominated by plantocracies.