Has anyone run across rental land from the 17th century to 1865? The Agricultural Census tabulations certainly hint that absentee landowners were present from the 1840's onward. After 1865 the peculiar institution transformed to sharecropping and tenant farming for African-Americans. But, the US Agricultural Census tabulations seem to strongly indicate that land rental was practiced commonly in the 1840's and presumably earlier. Is there any literature that addresses that as a general issue?
Thanks in advance,
Lyle Browning
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