This document discusses social stratification and how it was structured under plantation societies in the Caribbean. Social stratification refers to how societies classify people into hierarchical groups based on important criteria. During slavery, race and color determined social status - black slaves were at the bottom, mixed race people in the middle, and white Europeans at the top controlling wealth and political power. This social hierarchy continued after slavery ended, with upper classes still traditionally white and owning most wealth/land, while non-whites occupied lower paying jobs with less social and political influence.