Indentured Servants

Indentured Servants
A male landowner has the right to overwork their servants or slaves and expect their wives to be
obeying, but the British have no right to take from us our money and resources. Indentured servants
are bound to the landowner for a fixed period of time and slaves are their property. Landowners are
responsible for providing food, clothing and shelter for them, so it is only naturally right that they
can put them to work. There are also no working restrictions that prevent them from overworking
either the servants or slaves. People of color are also inferior races that do not intellectually know
what is wrong or right, so it is only fit that their decisions and rights are controlled. Women are
naturally born as the inferior sex as well. They are
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Indentured Servants During Early Colonial Times
Indentured Servants Indentured servants were used in early colonial times as a means of passage to
the new world. The cash crops of the early settlers were exhaustingly labor intensive. In fact, U.S.
History (2015) indicated that "the growth of tobacco, rice, and indigo and the plantation economy
created a tremendous need for labor in Southern English America" (p. 1). The technology did not
exist at the time for machinery that clears the ground and works the land as it does today. The work
had to be done by hand; from clearing and prepping the fields to harvesting the crops, it was all
manual labor for which the new land did not have ample supply of. Coming to the New World Life
in England during the early 1600's was harsh for a multitude of the poor. The country was just
coming out of the Thirties Year's War with a flood of citizens and laborers displaced. In fact, PBS
(2015) indicated that "the timing of the Virginia colony was ideal." The Thirty Year 's War had left
Europe 's economy depressed, and many skilled and unskilled laborers were without work. A new
life in the New World offered a glimmer of hope; this explains how one–half to two–thirds of the
immigrants who came to the American colonies arrived as indentured servants" (para. 3). This
opportunity for those willing to receive free passage to the New World and start a new life was
enticing. Granted, the work was difficult it was not without reward. The majority of these servants
that survived the trip and his

Indentured Servants Research Paper
Although many African Americans landed in Virginia in 1619 as slaves, in 1608 most emigrants
(who were mainly male) wanted to come to the New World by crossing the Atlantic Ocean so badly
that they agreed to become indentured servants. Those who were called Slaves were there to serve
for life while those who were called Indentured Servants only served for a certain term. According
to American Stories the amount of years that needed to be served depended on the person's age;
those who are younger get a longer term, while those who are older, like nineteen, only get about
five years. Many African Americans were called slaves because of their servitude; and many were
born into slavery because of the "status follows the womb". Many indentured servants

Indentured Servants And Slave Advertisements Essay
Slaves and indentured servants made a large part of the Virginian economy, slaves were investments
the farmers made into their business, and were necessary for success. They were viewed as beasts of
burden, and as property, not as fellow human beings. Both servants and slaves were treated poorly,
and one act of rebellion against this inhumane treatment was to run away. The farmers saw this as a
considerable loss and issued advertisements to impede the loss of their investment, but the
increasing number of advertisements over time shows the increasing willingness of the slaves and
servants to run away to freedom. Even though both slaves and servants were willing to run away,
analysis of these advertisements shows a clear distinction in the way that slaves were treated as
opposed to the treatment of indentured servants, these distinctions can be observed from simple
things like clothing and physical appearance to even the fact that most indentured servants had firs t
and last names while slaves did not. Some of the distinctions between slaves and indentured
servants can be noticed by looking at the trades and tools mentioned in the advertisements, a cursory
view of these advertisements shows very few slaves who have a trade or tool set mentioned, but
many of the servants do, the best I have seen written of a slave is a cooper, ... Show more content on
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Slaves have been recorded as wearing "Livery Cloaths", and having numerous scars, one from an ax
to the thigh. Whereas the servants rarely had remarkable scars, and were described as wearing (in a
single case) a plat hat, blue jacket, stript swan skin ditto, manx cloth petticoat, "Pladd stockings"
and a pair of country made shoes, in other cases, they are mentioned as having brass rings,
waistcoats, and breeches, brass buttons, and overall less "stooped and low shouldered" than the

Indentured Servants In England's North American Colonies
Slaves existed in the England's North American colonies throughout the 1600s. However,
indentured servitude was very common before the 1680s. "For half a century or so after 1620, most
laborers were indentured servants; only a small proportion were African slaves" (Clark, Hewitt,
Brown& Jaffee, 2007 p64). Indentured servants were people who signed an indenture, a contract by
which they agreed to work for a serval number of years in exchange for transportation to colonies;
in addition, they would get food, clothing, land, and freedom. The first Indentured servants in
British colonies were introduced by the Virginia Company in 1619. At that time, there was no slave
law; they had same opportunities for freedom with whites. However, in 1641, Massachusetts ...
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"Between the 1620s and the 1650s, as the tobacco economy expanded, thousands of English
immigrants flocked to Virginia and Maryland" (Clark, Hewitt, Brown& Jaffee, 2007 p73).
Indentured servants were used at the beginning. However, with more people came to American
colonies, the prosperity of the colonial economy, and freed servants' demand of land. The colonists
realized that the indentured servants might not the best option, and they need more cheap labor.
Tobacco was the main source of income for most of the colonists. To grow tobacco plantations
needed a significant amount of land and work force. African slaves were a low price. Slaves labor
produced a large number of profits for the plantation owners. "By the early eighteenth century, the
rice grown on these plantations because South Carolina's chief export, and planters turned almost
exclusively to imported African slaves for their workforce" (Clark, Hewitt, Brown& Jaffee, 2007
p87). By 1690, rice was growing successful in Carolina, and the rice cultivation spread to Georgia
as well. Some African slaves had some experience of grow rice in West Africa, and the planters
imported more African slaves to grow rice. As rice economy growth, the number of white servants
in Carolinas and Georgia fell, and the population of slaves increased. "That all Negroes and Indians,
(free Indians in amity with this government, and degrees, mulattoes, and mustizoes, who are now
free, excepted,) mulattoes or mustizoes who now are, or shall hereafter be, in this Province, and all
their issue and offspring, born or to be born, shall be, and they are hereby declared to be, and remain
forever hereafter, absolute slaves, and shall follow the condition of the mother" (Johnston 1840).
Slaves were a cheaper option than indentured servants. Indentured servants had a

Indentured Servants In America
Indentured servants were people who came over to the southern colonies in America from Britain
were bound to a contract to work off their debt overseas. The women who came over as indentured
servants were often convicted of crimes back in England or came from poor families, either way
these women hoped to create a new life for themselves after working off their debts. A large portion,
about three–fourths of the women who came over from Britain to the Southern Colonies during the
seventeenth century, were indentured servants (Dubois, ch.2 p.51).
Most women who decided to travel to the new world as an indentured servant knew there would
probably never be a return trip home, but at the time it might have seemed like a small price to pay
(Dubois, ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Typically marriages were cut short due to the death of a spouse usually an older husband (Dubois,
ch.2 p.48). After a woman was widowed [and if she survived her childbearing years], she would
receive a dowry of "at least a third of her husband's property" (Dubois, ch.2 p.50). There were two
options for widowed women at this point, the most population option was to get remarried, the other
option was to become a feme sole, having this status gave the women some individual rights before
law (Dubois). The women who obtained the status of feme sole and exercised their rights could
manage their small landholdings, make contracts, and appear in court to reclaim debts as seen
through the works of Margret Brent (Dubois, ch.2

Black Indentured Servants
1. Compare the treatment of black indentured servants and white indentured servants leading to the
legalization of slavery. Give at least three comparison points from the reading. Black and white
indentured servants suffered through constructing the agriculture in Virginia. Like the Africans,
many of the white indentured servants arrived involuntarily; carrying similar fears of violence and
hostility along with aspirations of freedom. Through the unfortunate circumstances of their arrival
under false pretenses; both races were sometimes forced to wear iron collars around their necks,
often beaten and even tortured for taking a rest and always required to have passes whenever they
left their plantations. 2. What was going on in America during

With the mistreatment of slaves and the conditions they had to undergo, many responded violently
in hopes of freedom or a better life than the one they were given. Indentured servants would sign a
contract, ultimately signing away their freedom to work for four to seven years to pay passage to the
colonies while slaves were forcefully taken from their homes in Africa to provide the colonist with a
form of cheap labor so that the colonist could keep their farms producing enough food for them to
survive. The lives of indentured servants and African slaves were not that different in the way that
they were both horribly mistreated and punished for their disobedience. Indentured servants, if they
could survive their first contract, were given more

Indentured Servant In Colonial America
A person under contract to work for another person for a definite period of time, usually without pay
but in exchange for free passage to a new country is known as an indentured servant. The servant
would become a free man after their debt was paid off. The indentured servant played an important
role in the American labor scene from the early seventeenth century to the third decade of the
nineteenth century (Heavner 1). Many regions of colonial America had issues with obtaining a big
enough labor supply to get work done. Indentured servitude was an initial solution to this problem
developed by the Virginia Company and used throughout the British colonies in the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries (Galenson 9). It was devised to increase labor ... Show more content on
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"The Rise and Fall of Indentured Servitude in the Americas: An Economic Analysis." The Journal of
Economic History, vol. 44, no. 1, 1984, pp. 1–26., www.jstor.org/stable/2120553. Heavner, Robert
O. "Indentured Servitude: The Philadelphia Market, 1771–1773." The Journal of Economic History,
vol. 38, no. 3, 1978, pp. 701–713., www.jstor.org/stable/2119476. Miller, William. "The Effects of
the American Revolution on Indentured Servitude." Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid–
Atlantic Studies, vol. 7, no. 3, 1940, pp. 131–141., www.jstor.org/stable/27766414. Derks, Annuska.
"Bonded Labour in Southeast Asia: Introduction." Asian Journal of Social Science, vol. 38, no. 6,
2010, pp. 839–852., www.jstor.org/stable/23654858. Usman, Ahmed, et al. "Elimination of Bonded
Labour in South Asia: The Process Patronage and Labourers' Right to Access Micro Credit in Brick
Kiln Industry of Pakistan." South Asian Studies (1026–678X), vol. 30, no. 1, Jan–Jun2015, pp. 57–
66.

Indentured Servants Dbq Essay
With the end of slavery came the rise of indentured servants in the nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries. When slaves were freed, they were no longer willing to put in the hours they were
previously forced to work. The colonies depended on plantations and also needed a new source of
labor. This led to mistreatment of indentured laborers. Most British people needed to turn to
indentured servitude in order to make money from their plantations. With each year, more and more
indentured servants would be needed to work (Document 2). Evidently, Document 2 has bias
because a British colonial governor who was most likely wealthy due to his servants' labor writes it.
Document 9 matches how indentured servants were needed on many plantations, ... Show more
content on Helpwriting.net ...
In the eyes of the British, though they felt as if the servants were completely different from slaves
(Document 1). A British undersecretary of the colonies wrote the document, so obviously he says
indentured servants and slaves were treated way differently because that's how the British colonies
made their money, and because he is not a laborer. The British even provided conditions a recruiter
has to offer to the indentured servants (Doc 7). This document doesn't show how the indentured
servants were actually treated in reality due to the fact that the British for the British Guiana
Indenture Agreement wrote this. Even though the British Indenture Agreement promised certain
conditions – the deals weren't always upheld (Doc 8). An indentured laborer, Romana, who could
have provided concrete evidence of what actually occurred during the laboring, wrote document 8.
In support of Document 8's claims were the images in Document 5 and 6. The second photograph
shows the indentured servants working tirelessly in the fields, with a man overseeing their work – a
European supervisor. Another document with photographs of the indentured servants living
conditions especially would be helpful in fully understanding the negative consequences related to
housing the indentured servants were provided in return for their

Pros And Cons Of Indentured Servants
Indentured Servants Lived Better Lives Than Slaves in the 18th Century When the colonies were
first starting to form, the people settling in America had no idea how to work on the land because
they were wealthy enough to not have to work in England. Indentured servants and slaves came into
America soon after the settlers came, because there was work to be done. Indentured servants and
slaves both had hard lifestyles but indentured servants lived life easier due to being seen more as
humans than slaves were, indentured servants had good clothes to keep them warm and help them
blend in with the crowd and if they were not caught after they had run away, they had a better
chance at surviving in the world. Indentured servants were people coming over from England to
work for families in America, and in exchange for a certain amount of years of work, they could
help pay for their families to come live with them in the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Since there were many people from the colonies who had just moved over from Europe, it was
easier for the servants to blend in with the crowd. Also, many indentured servants had a certain skill
listed in the wanted ads such as a gardener or butcher , showing that if they escaped, they could
easily find a job to makeup for the money they had lost due to running away. Slaves on the other
hand, would have a much harder time fitting in with the crowd. Since slaves started coming to
America shortly after the Europeans did, they did not know the English language, and would not be
taught it unless their masters taught them the language. Also, since slaves were African, their skin
color was a big giveaway that they had most likely runaway. Very few people let their slaves go free
and the slaves would have a hard time trying to find work unless they were to turn themselves in or
try to go to a different master for a different

Indentured Servants : An Indentured Servant
Most of the early American population emigrated from Europe as indentured servants. An
indentured servant is someone who has sold himself/herself for bonded labour for a certain number
of years and certain amount of freedom dues to be paid at the end of the term, in exchange for
transportation to the colonies (Galenson, 1977). This paper looks at the relationship between the
destinations the servants selected and the length of the contract. In addition, it also reflects on how
the destination preferences has changed over time between 1718 to 1759; the difference in
destination preferences between skilled workers, as well as, between genders. The paper
hypothesizes that servants with longer term lengths preferred to work in the mainland ... Show more
These markets were highly competitive as the servants were aware of the terms available and
refused to accept inferior bargains, while on the demand side the colonial settlers had to bid on the
servants, and the auction was open to all comers. Galenson used factors such as age, sex, state of
health, size, strength, professional skills, education, and work experience to determine the length of
the indenture term, however his analysis only considered minors. The success of his regression
suggests that the servants had voluntarily bonded themselves in these contracts and that the
merchants negotiated the length of indenture based on the expected value of these servants in the
colonies. Galenson's results advocate that these servants were the earliest immigrants to the
America, and though the method of immigrating has changed, it is done for the same purpose–to
make more money than in the home country.
Grubb's paper The Market for Indentured Immigrants: Evidence on the Efficiency of Forward–
Labor Contracting in Philadelphia looks at this historic event from a financial perspective. It
suggests that the indenture contracts are forward–contracts, which locks in an expected future price
(i.e. colonial prices). The paper focuses on whether the efficient market hypothesis, which states that
all the information needed to speculate the prices is already in the current price of the asset and thus
eliminates any arbitrage

Slavery Vs Indentured Servants Essay
Slavery and Indentured servitude were vital to the success of the British colonies in several different
ways. The difference between slaves and servants is that slaves were owed for life or until their
master decided to let them leave or they died. Indentured servants were granted freedom, safe
passage to the country and land ownership after working the length of their contract, as previously
agreed upon. One of the main reasons slaves and indentured servants were so vital to the British
colonies is that they were cheap and effective labor. They were able to work in the fields planting,
fertilizing, watering and picking the crop when it was ready to be harvested for consumption or
profit. Due to the fast harvests, the Americans were able to ... Show more content on
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In 1705 there were not many indentures servants anymore. The British colonies started hiring slaves
due to the fact that they were owned for life and they didn't have to be let go due to their contracts
expiring. Slaves also had less rights than indentured servants due to the changes in the slave laws.
The Americans justified enslaving Africans in several ways. The Americans thought less of them;
that they weren't even human but personal property to do with as they pleased. These views all came
in to account due to their skin color being darker. The American's thought they were evil since they
were so dark complected. That they were stupid and couldn't make their own way in the world. They
would make them work long hours in horrible conditions such as out in field all day in the hot sun
without breaks. Their living conditions were horrible, they weren't allowed medical care and were
not fed on a consistent basis. They were beaten, killed and many of the women were sexually
abused by their masters. Many of the slaves died due to malnourishment and disease. The American
colonists justified their actions by viewing that they were taking care of them by providing food,
shelter and a means to live by. That without them they would still be in Africa starving, homeless
and

Similarities Between Slavery And Indentured Servants
The institutions of slavery and being an indentured servant is different yet similar. Slavery was set
up in a way that you were born into it and the only way out was death. Slavery was a system set up
that you will be enslaved for life while indentured servitude had an agreement. The agreement was
that you work like a slave for three to seven years then you would be given freedom as well as land.
When you were a slave and an indentured servant the treatment you endured was unbearable. They
would beat them for any reasons they felt necessary. These could include not picking enough cotton,
not responding when spoken too, or even talking back to your master. Many slaves and indentured
servants would die due to this treatment as well as other ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
If the indentured servants ran away or if the women got pregnant then their time could get increased.
The masters would take them to court to see that this happened. Women that were slaves or
indentured servants received the worse treatment because they were looked upon as weaker
therefore they received more abuse including sexual abuse. When masters felt like they could not
use the slaves and indentured servants they were sold. Indentured servants and slaves were not
allowed to get married. African slaves increased because indentured servants were not good for
planters needs and the whites wanted a way to control the outstanding number of African Americans
around them. Slavery was based on the African American race and being black made them inferior
to all other humans which made slavery a hereditary condition in the world. Slaves were the key
commodity of exchange. They were sold as security for debts, for food, war, captives, military
recruits, and agricultural laborers. However, the main difference was that slaves worked with no end
date, they would hope and pray that they got out of being enslaved, but few got out alive. Although
it was possible for some to escape, some were free due to Christian baptism, and others purchased
their freedom from

Indentured Servants During The Colonial Era
Labor in colonial America was scarce. Explain the development of using indentured servants for
labor in the colonies. Below are some of the items you may include:
Indentured servants? beginning and decline
Changes, problems, and issues with indentured servant labor
Unintended consequences of using indentured servants
During the colonial era, was it better to be an indentured servant, or a slave? In current day, one
could argue that both are preposterous notions, however for the time, was either beneficial for
anyone? Looking back on how to country developed following this time, through the years of
slavery in the civil war, it may look like the only people to benefit from slavery or having an
indentured servant, is the owner. Despite how either has looked throughout many of the eras of this
country, being an indentured servant had very good potential for benefiting the servant. One may
ask, how could anyone benefit from being a servant? Even though this may seem like a very logical
question, to those involved in this life style, it all made sense. Let?s take a look at it from their point
of view. When early settlers were attempting to colonize here in the new land, the first successful
colony wasn?t actually established by the English government. In fact, it had been the successful
venture of a privately owned business, The Virginia Company of London. This company was
actually comprised of investors with seemingly good intentions. Their end goal was to extend

The Importance Of Indentured Servants
Early colonists relied heavily on farming to sustain life in the New World, for self–sustainability as
well as for trade with Native Americans and England. As farms and plantation grew, so did the need
for manual labor. Originally, the land owners adopted England's tradition of indentured servant.
Indentured servants were people that would pay their debts with time and labor. For example, the
lower class of the population in England, wanting to travel to the new world, would sign an
indenture agreement stating that if a higher class citizen would fund their travels, they would work
for the landowner for an agreed upon amount of time once they arrived. At the end of their
servitude, they would be released and provided the basic means of survival.

Difference Between Indentured Servants
indentured servants and slaves were brought to America to work, they were stripped of their normal
every day lives and forced to suffer harsh conditions and do hard labor. Treatment for both groups
was not very pleasant and the voyage to America was extremely difficult sometimes even leading to
death. Besides both parties coming to work there was some differences between them. Indentured
servants and slaves differed in the way of being treated, they were also brought to America
differently, and both groups had different feelings when arriving to America. treatment was different
for servants and slaves. Being black meant being treated differently then others. a 1639 virginia law
allowed for everyone except negroes to have arms and ammunition. This meant that an indentured
servant who was sold and forced to do labor had this right whereas slaves did not. Indentured
servants suffered because of all the diseases the ship contained and because the horrible quality of
food and water. Servants had a tiny toom that was 6 feet in length and two feet wide. besides food
rationing servants had ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Indentured servants came from Europe and the voyage could take up to 12 weeks. Indentured
servants were also sold back home and whoever sold them would recieve a lump of cash. Whereas
slaves were not sold until they reached America, they were forced out of Africa. The route to
America was also different since they were coming from a different continenet. Indentured servants
were allowed to roam freely in the little space they had. Slaves were chained up and almost always
kept below the deck. the crew members in the slave ships would force the slaves to eat and if they
disobeyed they would be punished. Most of the time indentured servants did not want to eat since
the food was full of worms and inedible. Both greatly suffered on their voyage here but indentured
servants had more space and were not forced nor

In exchange for transportation across the Atlantic indentured servants served a master for a 3–7
years. The younger they were the longer they served. In return their master promised to give them
the tools they needed, and paid for passage to new world. (Divine et al. 18) Becoming an indentured
servant didn't seem like a big deal since it was only temporary and not permanent. Once their
indenture contract had been achieved they were released from servitude, and free to start a life and
business of their own in the colony. Most indentured servants came to America willingly and with
some hope for a future of their own. They had hope for a future. They weren't forever owned by
someone they would one day be free again.
Slavery began

Indentured Servants Dbq
Under the "Questions To Think About" Section of the reading, on page thirty–five, it discusses how
historians have become greatly divided based on the questions on why slaves were slaves, and why
indentured servants were indentured servants. Historians argue that Europeans were indentured
servants and Africans were slaves because of race or racism. Other historians argue that Europeans
were indentured servants and Africans were slaves based on the availability and price of the
laborers. When asked which statement makes the most sense, one must consider all of the
information provided. After reading and analyzing the eight documeents, I can form an opinion that
Europeans were indentured servants and Africans were slaves because of racism in ... Show more
The documents state that the slaves were not able to eat, and were overwhelmed by fatigue. The
author of the eighth document discusses how she lived the entire journey on the ship in fear of being
killed. The source is filled with awful images of how the slaves were treated in the 1700s. The
reasoning behind these experiences was once again because of race. The Africans were seen
differently; therefore, they were treated differently in comparison to the European indentured
servants. The fifth document is a selection of Virginia laws that discusses how indentured servants
were better off in comparison to the slaves between the 1600 and 1700s. The source provides
evidence on how people were treated based on the color of their skin, and their religion. Law IV
states that people who were not Christians, then they would be forced to be slaves. This is unfair
considering the Christian religion was not well–known in Africa. This fact is still true in today's

Indentured Servants In The Epic Of America
While the idea of the American Dream became more popular during the 17th to 20th centuries, the
achievability remained elusive due to a static and hierarchical social order that prevailed throughout
this time. Thus, the tireless claims of the New Left for a reformed society are supported by the
unchanging accessibility of the American Dream.
In his book The Epic of America (1931), James Truslow Adams defined the American Dream as
"that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with
opportunity for each according to ability or achievement". Adams coined the phrase with the values
of respectability, perseverance, and equal opportunity in mind. Contrary to modern distortions,
Adams reasoned that the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
However, the hardships of crossing the transatlantic and demanding labor soon became the realities
that indentured servants faced. Hofstadter presents Abbott E. Smith's estimate that "1 out of 10
indentured servants became a substantial farmer and another became an artisan or overseer...The
other eight, [Smith] suggests, either died during servitude, returned to England when it was over, or
drifted off to become the "poor whites" of the villages and rural areas". Thus, the Europeans who
came to the colonies as indentured servants are evidence of the inaccessibility of the American
Dream during the 17th century.
The dominance of a master over his servants ensured a rigid social structure that undermined the
accessibility of the American Dream for the common people, such as indentured servants,
throughout the 17th century. Indentured servants, which constituted approximately 75–85% of all
European immigrants to the colonies during the 1600s, had renounced their freedom through their
indentures, leaving these servants under the often oppressive authority of their masters. While the
living conditions

Indentured Servants In Colonial America
During the American civilization, the economy of the south became mainly dependant on a crop
called tobacco. As time went on and the South began to grow and develop, they turned their
dependency to not tobacco anymore but cotton. Unfortunately these crops were labor intensive
which meant that they required a lot of workers to care for the crop in order to continue to grow the
crop and be able to make revenue for it. Indentured servants and later on as well as African slaves
were used to care for these crops because their labor were both cheap and got the job done (Shi and
Tindall 39). Earlier on, when America were first founded, the colonist believed they could do either
one of two things. The first option was to either ask entire families ... Show more content on
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One thing he distinctly remembered was the way civil leaders ignored his complaints against his
master regarding the contract he signed in England. Moraley recalled, "The condition of bought
servants is very hard, notwithstanding their indentures were made in England, wherein it is
expressly stipulated, that they shall have, at their arrival, all the necessaries specified in those
indentures, to be given 'em by their future masters, such as clothes, meat, and drink; yet upon
complaint made to a Magistrate against the master for nonperformance, the master is generally
heard before the servant" (Mayer and Shi 75). Because the contract was signed in England, many
American civil leaders felt it unnecessary to enforce or regulate the laws associated with indentured
servants. As a result, many owners were able to get away with disobeying the contract that required
them to provide the basic necessities for their servants. Servants had to live without these vital
necessities and consequently, many servants attempted to escape the horrible conditions. However,
they were usually found, returned to their masters, and punished with a longer term (Mayer and Shi

With the increasing demand for American cash crops such as tobacco and king cotton, there was a
shortage in labor to harvest these crops. So to collect these cash crops, indentured servants and
slaves were brought into America in order for farmers to cultivate these resources quickly.
Indentured servants were brought into America because of Europe's economic decline and grew
interest in working for a master for several years so they could one day own their own land to
harvest crops. Slaves were brought in from the famous middle passage and suffered unimaginable
brutality and later on replaced the need for white indentured servants in America. Back in England,
life was full of economic struggles. There were so many that were unemployed and ... Show more
White indentured servants only had to work for their master for several years before being granted
as a free man and given their freedom dues which included "one good cloth suit of kersey or
broadcloth...fifty acres of land" (Bigham, 32). But indentured servitude started to be less readily
available in the southern colonies because Europe's economy started to improve after the 1660s and
less people felt the need to make the long difficult voyage to America to give their family a better
life. However, with slaves the status of the mother would ultimately determine the status of the
children and whether or not they too would be deemed slaves, it was in the planter's best interest
that they status of slavery was

Indentured White Servants In Colonial America
The colonies of 1916 were desperate for labor and manpower, to grow enough food to stay alive
since agriculture and craftwork were key to the development of the colonies. The colonists thought
about forcing the Indians to work for them, but they were massively outnumbered (Zinn). Initially,
indentured white servants were used for labor, but there was not a sufficient quantity of them and
the amount of work was increasing. Fearing a servant revolt, the colonies resorted to using African
slaves rather than the servants. They relied on the slaves to work on the plantations or mine precious
metals. The Virginians needed labor to grow corn and tobacco. The rest of the colonies also needed
labor to work on similar plantations. Tobacco plantations required thousands of workers meaning
the owner wouldn't be making much profit. In the beginning, indentured white servants were the
answer. These were mainly the ones who could not afford a boat trip to America to start a new life
so they offered themselves as servants for ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The first is that these slaves had prior farming experience, knew how to grow crops unfamiliar to the
colonies, and they could teach these skills to their masters. The second advantage is that Africans
tended to be immune to malaria and yellow fever meaning they found a more efficient way to grow
rice. The last advantage was that slavery was like a disease. Enslavement laws stated slaves were
purchased once and then "owned" for their entire life. (Teaching U.S History) If a slave had a child,
that child would be enslaved for the rest of his or her life leading to multiple generations of slaves.
Slavery proved to be a plentiful investment for plantation owners. The slave trade itself brought in a
great amount of money to the colonies. For the areas that weren't thriving off crops, they could just
import or export slaves. Slavery proved to be a plentiful investment for plantation

The Pros And Cons Of Indentured Servants
When Europeans first came to the New World they were stunned to see how cheap land was and
how expensive labor was. Many of these settlers relied on Indentured servants and Indians as cheap
labor but this came with many disadvantages. Indentured servants "carried too high a price for
farmers who raised crops for subsistence." ( The American Journey Ch. 3, Pg.78) Another
disadvantage to using indentures servants was that they only worked long enough to repay the debt
they had. Using Indians also came with an array of problems. One of the most blaring problems was
the death rate. Many Native Americans died from diseases that the settlers brought with them and
some of them died from being overworked with made the death rate sky rocket. Men also

Relationship Between Indentured Servants And Slaves
The typical colonial planter's views were inconsistent due to the exploited non–white races within
the vast majority of indentured servants and the economic manipulation of the British government.
Indentured servants and slaves were overworked by their masters because exploitive colonial
planters and plantation owners pushed them to the degree that they eventually died at a very early.
When indentured non–white servants migrated to Virginia in the seventeenth century, they were
immediately put to work because masters sought to gain wealth as soon as possible and lead forty
percent of these servants to die before their four–year term was finished (Jovanovich, 1984).
Inhumane exploitation within plantations were regularly colonial planters pushing

Indentured Servants In The Seventeenth Century
During the seventeen century a large amount of slaves starting to enter North America; Virginia and
Maryland in particular. At the time tobacco was introduced to the colonies by John Rolfe.
Indentured servants where people who worked for a master for a certain of number of years and, in
exchange they were brought over to New World for free. At first many indentured servants could not
survive the New World, and died quickly due to diseases. Over time the servants adjusted to the new
environment and started living much longer than before. As the New World began to expand,
servants to break their contracts with their masters. Many servants fled to Pennsylvania because of
William Penn's belief in universal freedom. Some also left also back to Landon

Understanding the Lives Of Indentured Servants in the 17th Century.
During the 17th century there was a fairly new form of labor in Colonial America. The concept of
indentured servants was already well established in England, but the new labor force had to be
gotten used to in Colonial America. The lives of indentured servants in the colonies were extremely
different and their living conditions were poor.
Indentured servants served as temporary laborers to the farmers and plantation owners in the
colonies. Servants were required to work until a certain age, while slaves were bought and sold to
work without an ending date. According to "An Act Concerning Servants And Slaves" [ "An Act
Concerning Servants And Slaves,"Unites States History ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Indentured servants deserved to be treated as if they are human beings and not just a form of work.
Although indentured servants lived comfortably in some regions, for the most part their bet interest
were not taken the into consideration. Their master(s) paid little attention to their need of proper
health care or health care at all, the need for a substantial amount of food and clothing. The
challenges indentured servants endured were difficult and sometimes ended horribly but the
willingness to work for their role and stay in this fast growing society portrayed their true loyalty
and dedication despite the poor treatment and

Gottlieb Mittelberger: An Indentured Servants
During the 18th century, indentured servitude had become very common in British North America;
this was one way many poor Europeans could come to America for a "better" life. In order to
emigrate to the American colonies, they would sign long–term labor contracts, to pay off the debt
they picked up when they wanted to come to the American colonies. The primary source, "Gottlieb
Mittelberger on the Trade in Indentured Servants" is written by Mittelberger himself in 1750, who
was an emigrant that arrived in British North America as an indentured servant. In this source, he
explains the negatives of coming to British North America; the ups and downs he faced, for
instance: the long and horrible voyage conditions, and the sale of human beings once they had
landed. ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
But, in order to get here, they had to go through the voyage. It was full of dreadful conditions, from
eating "old and sharply–salted food and meat" to disease and death at a high rate. He explains that
some women had to die because they, "could not give birth under the circumstances, was pushed
through a loophole (porthole) in the ship and dropped into the sea." This was horrible but that's not
it, children had to see their parents die or vice versa. These conditions explain that coming to the
American colonies was not that simple but rather difficult due to the horrifying conditions one had
to face during the voyage and then when they had

Indentured Servants Essay example
Indentured Servants
Indentured servitude was the institutional arrangement devised to increase labor mobility from
Europe (particularly England) to America, and it was the labor system that preceded American
slavery. Its emergence in Virginia in the seventeenth century can be seen as a development
expedient to the circumstances surrounding the colony. Indentured servitude was practically the
only way in which a poor person could get to the colonies and planters could be supplied with cheap
labor. Richard Frethorne's document written in 1623, The Experiences of an Indentured Servant,
legalized the master–servant relationship, specified the kind of labor to be performed, the length of
time to be served, and the dues owed to the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Richard Frethorne was a young Englishman who came over to the New World in 1623 as an
indentured servant and settled in Virginia, near the Jamestown colony. His letter provides an
illuminating picture of the hardships of colonization in the early seventeenth century, especially for
the class of indentured servants. Combating homesickness, disease, hunger, discomfort, and
isolation, Frethorne and his fellow settlers struggled to make a success of their fledgling community.
Life in early Virginia was particularly difficult because of the shortage of supplies, the prevalence of
disease, and tense relations with the Native Americans. On March 22, 1622, the Powhatan chief
Opechancanough organized an attack on English settlements across the colony that killed between
three hundred and four hundred people. This attack, ignited by the recent murder of the great
warrior Nemattanew by the English, was intended to curb English expansion into native lands. As a
result, the English abandoned many outlying settlements and moved closer to or into Jamestown
itself, increasing the incidence of disease and death in the overcrowded village. The English
retaliated by destroying Indian crops. Frethorne alludes to this attack, in which eighty people from
his outlying settlement died, and which motivated the fear and harsh policies of the settlers toward
the Indians. Tensions between the two groups escalated over the next decade and climaxed in
another attack by Opechancanough in 1641,

In colonial America, due to the influx in production and export of goods, slavery was most
definitely inevitable. In the new world, the first form of labor that was used was indentured
servitude. White males in colonial America would pay for citizens in Europe to take the journey
across the Atlantic Ocean to the New World. Thus, the new citizens would have to sign a contract
and work as an indentured servant for as many years as the contract states, typically four to seven
years. All indentured servants in the colonies retained the rights of an English citizen, they had both
civil rights and liberties. Over time, as life expectancy increased, indentured servants ended up
costing plantation owners more money than expected, this caused plantation ... Show more content
on Helpwriting.net ...
All slaves that were brought to the new world were either African American or Indian. The
conditions that a slave went through to make it to the new world was horrendous. They traveled on
ships that were over packed and the slaves were then chained together to prevent revolts. Slaves
were also exposed to numerous new diseases and forms of harsh punishment and treatment. In the
new world slaves were an extremely cheap form of labor, when a plantation owner had purchased
their slaves they owned them for life. Slaves were usually taken off the ship and then auctioned off
to potential owners. The owners would then bid on each slave, create and sign a contract and then
take their slaves back to their, this was the start of slaves being viewed as objects instead of people.
Eventually these contracts were eventually altered to state that any children that a male slave had
would also be owned by that male slave's plantation owner. In 1705, in Virginia, a law was passed
stating the rights of a slave, in this law slaves were property, they could be bought and sold, they
had no rights, slaves could be punished as a master feels fit. Slaves were no longer

Indentured Servants In New England
3. Indentured servants were very important to the development of the colonies. In the early years,
there were labor shortages and indentured servants provided cheap labor. By bringing in people with
specialized skills and providing immigration for other who could not afford, indentured servitude
helped the colonies expand. The colonies had a lot of land, and indentured servants made up half the
population (parliament announced that convicts could escape the hangman by relocating to the
colonies.)This led to a quicker progress of initial growth of the colonies. Although this system
helped with the growth of the colonies, it was replaced by the 1700's with slaves. The reason was
that slaves served for life instead of servants who served for 4–7 years. This was more profitable
than buying servants over and over again. Also, once you owned a slave you owned their children,
which was a bonus because you wouldn't have to buy any more slaves. Overall, slaves replaced
servants because they were more profitable to buy and the supplies of these slaves seemed
inexhaustible since there population was matching the number of whites at that time and ... Show
more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Colonists participated in international and imperial trade by using the triangular trade. Although, out
of necessity, the colonies sent raw materials, such as fish and fur, to England in exchange for
manufactured goods. In order to protect England's agriculture and fisheries put taxes on goods. This
resulted in the New York and New England to buy more from England than they sold. To avoid this,
the colonies started using their own ships and merchants, this formed the triangular trade. The
triangular trade allowed New Englanders to ship rum to the west coast of Africa, where they
exchanged for slaves; took the enslaved Africans to the West Indies; and returned home with various
commodities, including molasses from which they manufactured rum. The triangular trade allowed
the colonies trade to prosper and for more profit to be

Indentured servants first arrived in America in the decade right after the settlement of Jamestown by
the Virginia Company in 1607.The foundation of indentured servitude developed from a need for
cheap labor. The earliest settlers soon realized that they had acres of land to care for, but no one to
care for it. With passage to the Colonies expensive for all but the wealthy, the Virginia Company
developed the system of indentured servitude to lure in and attract workers. Indentured servants
became vital to the colonial economy. Without them they would've experienced a downfall in their
economic system.
The timing of the Virginia colony was the most realistic at the time. The Thirty Year's War had left
Europe's economy dry therefore there was a ton of laborers unemployed. A new life in the New
World offered hope and potential happiness, this explains how two–thirds of the immigrants who
came to the American colonies arrived as indentured servants. ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Salinger, titled "Indentured Servants– Voyage, Sale, Service", servants typically worked three to
seven years in exchange for passage, room, board, clothing and freedom dues. But they also had to
agree to leave their family and friends (Salinger 83). While the life of an indentured servant was
harsh and restrictive, it wasn't slavery. There were laws that protected some of their rights. But their
life was not an easy one and punishments existed. An indentured servant's contract could be
extended as punishment for breaking a law, such as running away, or in the case of female servants,
becoming pregnant. Additionally, the keepers had an option to blame the servants of doing wrong
which led to a longer sentence (Salinger 94). If they decided to run away, then it would be too easy
for others to spot due to their pigmentation of their

Indenture is a system originated in England and used by colonial American settlers to help solve
work shortage problem in late 17th and early 18th century. Differences of treatment towards
indentured servants could be found between regions, ages and genders. One of the most distinct
difference was the relationship between gender and education. More female indentured servants had
an education than male indentured servants because of the difference of their roles within the
colonial American society. This evidence appeared in two places: first, in the "care and necessaries"
clauses as a term of indenture; second, in the proportion of female educated indentured servants and
the male educated indentured servants. For male indentured servants, ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
The purpose of having indentured servants in colonial America was to populate and build a new
world. Male indentured servants were under contracts to learn certain set of skills such as being a
carpenter [13], a sawyer [4] or wheelwright [2]. These jobs moulded male indentured servants
primarily to be physical labourers especially farmhands which required little to none literacy skills.
All they needed to know was how to finish their given labour. Therefore, for male indentured
servants, even though the literacy rate was very low, education was not of great and primary
concern. On the other hand, female indentured servants were trained to be maids, cooks [27] and
future homemakers and their indenture contracts usually ended when they got married to somebody
[15]. All the indentured servants had the hope of starting their own life once their apprenticeship
came to an end which included starting a family. In the colonial American society, males were the
primary working force while women were to keep the household and raise children. While the
fathers were working to provide for his family, the desire and task of educating their children must
be carried out by women. Therefore, when these future mothers were still indentured servants,
masters became the primary source of providing an education for them. More female indentured
servants were trained in vocational skills than the male indentured servants because the difference of
their roles in family and within

Labor in the British colonies in America consisted of African slaves who were typically permanently
enslaved as well as white indentured servants who worked for a specific amount of time and
according to conditions outlined in a legal document, as well as several combinations of the two
categories. Both the indentured servants and the slaves were essential to the growth of the colonial
economy and society as a whole because of their work. The rapid growth of the farming economy
led to a significant need for laborers which led to a chain of events resulting in slavery. By
investigating the contractual rights indentured servants had, the living conditions they experienced,
and the way indentured servants acted as a precursor for slave labor, ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Farmers and masters of indentured servants began moving away from indentured servitude and
towards slavery after the first African slaves were brought to Virginia in 1619. The increasing
demand for tobacco and indigo also prompted a need for labor, and the African slaves were an even
easier method of labor for masters than indentured servants. Servants were also becoming more
expensive. As the demand for servants went up their terms got shorter and their contracts became
less and less favorable for their masters. In addition to this, the number of indentured servants had
fell in the 1660s due to a decrease in the English birthrate and a subsequent rise in English wages.
All these factors encouraged a shift away from indentured servitude and towards African slave
labor. With no regulations on slaves in place, owners were free to abuse the system and be as cruel
as they

Indentured Servants and Slaves in the U.S. Essay
A plantation economy, an economy founded on an agricultural mass production like tobacco,
sustained the source of income of the Chesapeake regions, consisting Virginia, Maryland, and
northern North Carolina. The early settlers soon realized the urgent need for labor in the New
World. Due to the fact that many potential immigrants could not afford an expensive trip across the
Atlantic, the Virginia Company developed the system of indentured servitude to attract common
laborers. Since tobacco required intensive hand labor all year round, indentured servants have
become vital to the colonial economy. "Virginia Servant and Slave Laws" represent the elaborate
efforts of masters' to profit from indentured servants and slaves against runaway and ... Show more
3). Also, slave woman is considered more valuable due to the child. The law enacted in Virginia
shows masters' goal to profit from the children of slaves, "In 1662, Virginia lawmakers specified
that the children of slave mothers inherited their mothers' slave status" ("Virginia Servants and Slave
Laws," in Handout Set, p. 2). Under theses harsh circumstances, servants and slaves, regardless of
gender and ethnicity, tend to work together and that became a great fear of the ruling class. "Virginia
Laws Governing Servant and Slave" reveals the rebellions of servants and slaves who united to fight
against their masters. Bacon's Rebellion, in 1676, occurred in the Virginia Colony in opposition to
Virginia's Indian policy (Roark, The American Promise, p. 79). Bacon's Rebellion demonstrated that
poor whites and poor blacks could be united in a cause, and it shows that they are capable of
challenging the ruling class together. Virginia lawmakers enacted the laws to prevent the servants
and slaves from uniting to fight against masters. According to "Document 2: Law Making Slave
Status Inherited from Mother, 1662" the Virginia legislators punished interracial sexual relations,
"And that if any Christian shall commit fornication with a negro man or woman, hee or shee soe
offending shall pay double the ffines imposed by the former act"

Essay on Comparing Indentured Servants and Slaves
Slavery and indentured servitude were the primary means of help for the wealthy in America. Either
as a slave or as an indentured servant a person was required to work in the fields maintain crops, as
a house servant or as the owner of debtor so chooses. The treatment of both was very similar, but the
method and means to which they came to America were uniquely different as the following
examples will illustrate. Broteer was an African prince of the tribe of Dukandarra in Guinea. His
father, Saungm Furro, was well off and king. When Broteer was six years old, his province was
invaded by a large army of about 6000 men and very well equipped. The leaders of this army
required Saungm to pay a large sum of money and livestock in order for ... Show more content on
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He was then sold at a market place for four gallons of rum and a piece of calico. This is when he
was named Venture, being that he was purchased by a private venture. (Smith) Another individual,
Olaudah Equiano, was captured in Nigeria. He was taken by ship across the Middle Passage. Once
he was put aboard the ship, the crew roughed him up some in order to test his fortitude. Having
looked around his situation, he noticed the other slaves were very dejected. He passed out and
awoke with members of the party that had sold him around him. He was afraid he was being sold to
be eaten, but was assured he was not. He was led to the lower decks of the ship. The stench and
disgust of the area were more than he could take. Olaudah became depressed and fell very sick. He
often wished that death would come and take him. Once the cargo ship was fully loaded, the space
was exceedingly limited. He was beaten for not eating and whipped hourly. After finding some of
his own nation, he was told that they were being taken to a white man's country to work. This was
some relief to him. He soon became so weak that he was brought to the deck and allowed to stay
there. This was a minor relief as he had to witness those that were brought form below at near death.
During a period of calm seas, several slaves successfully jumped ship. The crew was quick to react
and made all slaves go below deck. After stopping the ship setting about a

Indentured Servants Essay
In the seventeenth century, slaves and indentured servants were considered property. The difference
between the two groups of people, is slavery lasted a lifetime while indentured servants labor lasted
for four to six years until the servant were able to pay their owner back. So under these
circumstances, slaves and indentured servants' lives were very similar but also different. Based on
their clothing and the skills they had, slaves and indentured servant lifestyles were different.
Clothing seemed like a huge factor in the ads in 1738, because it showed the difference between a
slave and indentured servant. Both of these groups could not choose what type of clothing they had
or pick different outfits. Slaves did not have clothing because ... Show more content on
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Servants had many skills that they could bring to a job. In 1738, most of the ads that were looking
for the escaped servants. They were carpenter, baker, glazier, tailor and many more job titles. "The
said MacNeal is a tall well set Man, pockfretten, and middle ag'd; he professeth to be an Overseer,
or Ploughman, and Coachman ;..." This is one example of how an indentured servant had skills. In
1738, escaped slaves and indentured servants reward money cost around the same. The ads in the
Virginia Gazette showed that the owners was going to give pistols or shillings to the people that
found or returned them.6 They were both worth money because the settlers needed them to do their
work. These ads overall were helpful to a certain extent. For each slaves and indentured servant ads
they were all the same. The slave ads had the description including the clothes they had, the scars on
their body and the reward money. Then the indentured servants also had the same description but it
said whether they took money from the owner and their skills. They did not tell much about how the
lives of slaves and indentured servants were. As a reader, inference and prior knowledge was needed
in order to get some type of patterns from the

Indentured Servants vs. Black Slaves
The Stepping Stones of Labor in America Throughout time, in all places, there is an upper class and
a lower class. During the 16th to 19th century in America people came from all over Europe. People
from Europe found America as an escape from their life; a new start. Some could not afford to take
a boat ride across the Atlantic with their whole family. Because of this, some people became
indentured servants. Later on, the South revolutionized America by bringing in black slaves and
getting rid of indentured servitude. Slaves generated the economy for the South, but was also the
main cause of the civil war. Both slaves and indentured servants were treated badly, however, black
slaves were much more expensive and had to work for life, ... Show more content on
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After the indentured servants had did their time depending how long their contract was, they were
given money, land and often a sustainable job. Black slaves were permanently slaves and didn 't
have as much hope as indentured servants because they had no family and they knew that they were
stuck living their life the way it was forever. Also, indentured servants often had learned some
economically valuable skills, so when their contract was up, they were more prepared for the
outside world, while black slaves were not usually and were not let out. Indentured servants were
slaves and dehumanized during their time of their contract, but often had a better life because of
what they learned from being a servant and their reward. While both slaves and servants typically
did similar work, slaves were bought and put into work whereas indentured servants signed a
contract and the owner didn 't give up any money value until the end of contract. During this time
the cost of a black slave was about 130,000 dollars. This was a lot higher because this is when there
was no more indentured servitude and the South 's economy relied on black slaves for cotton.
Paying 130,000 dollars for a slave seems like a bad investment, but they got the slaves for life and
the slaves could reproduce and have more slaves in the future. The biggest reason why black slaves
were a better

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