Final answer:
The statement is false as the industrialization and urban migration occurred predominantly during the 19th century with the rise of improved agricultural technology and factory jobs leading to the rural-to-urban shift.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that in the 17th century, hundreds of thousands of Latin American farmers migrated to cities due to the abundance of new factory jobs is false. The mass rural-to-urban migration due to the industrialization and the rise of factory jobs primarily occurred during the 19th century, not the 17th century. During the 17th century, Latin America's economy was still heavily based on agriculture and was largely colonial without large-scale industrialization or urban factory jobs. The Industrial Revolution, which started in Britain in the late 18th century and spread to other parts of the world including the United States in the 19th century, was the period when significant urbanization took place. Advances in farm equipment and agricultural techniques reduced the need for labor on farms, prompting a demographic shift as people sought employment in burgeoning factory industries within cities.