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 his army not to invade. The king agreed in order to save his people from the hardships of conflict. However, he was informed by a friend or acquaintance that the army was not one of honor and did not keep their word. Therefore, Saungm set out to save his family and flee from the invaders. He set out in two groups in order to keep the traveling parties smaller and less noticeable. However, as they were camped and had lit a fire, a scouting party discovered their location from the smoke and captured the family. The king was killed for failing to divulge his riches, but Broteer and the women were treated more tolerantly since they were more submissive. After his capture, Broteer was made a waiter of a scouting party. He set out with them on hunts and soon discovered that these people were efficient and quick to lay waste to herds and to people. They often would sack villages and captured the inhabitants. The army continued to march and attack village after village. But as they did so, the size of the ... ... middle of paper ... ...sing the Atlantic in a Slave Ship in 1789” 2011. MyHistoryLab. Pearson Education, Inc. 1995-2011. 8 February, 2011. http://media.pearsoncmg.com/ph/hss/hss_hine_aaodyssey_4/instructor_resources/primary_source_documents/chapter02/2_4.pdf Sprigs, Elizabeth. “Letter to Her Father” 2011. MyHistoryLab. Pearson Education, Inc. 1995-2011. 8 February, 2011. http://wpscms.pearsoncmg.com/long_longman_mhlus_0/0,11867,3124639-content,00.html Bennett, Edward. “Wessell Webling, His Indenture (1622)” 2011. MyHistoryLab. Pearson Education, Inc. 1995-2011. 8 February, 2011. http://wpscms.pearsoncmg.com/long_longman_mhlus_0/0,11867,3125014-content,00.html Sewell, Samuel. “The Selling of Joseph” 2011. MyHistoryLab. Pearson Education, Inc. 1995-2011. 8 February, 2011. http://media.pearsoncmg.com/ph/hss/hss_hine_aaodyssey_4/instructor_resources/primary_source_documents/chapter03/3_2.pdf
The use of labor came in two forms; indenture servitude and Slavery used on plantations in the south particularly in Virginia. The southern colonies such as Virginia were based on a plantation economy due to factors such as fertile soil and arable land that can be used to grow important crops, the plantations in the south demanded rigorous amounts of labor and required large amounts of time, the plantation owners had to employ laborers in order to grow crops and sell them to make a profit. Labor had become needed on the plantation system and in order to extract cheap labor slaves were brought to the south in order to work on the plantations. The shift from indentured servitude to slavery was an important time as well as the factors that contributed to that shift, this shift affected the future generations of African American descent. The history of colonial settlements involved altercations and many compromises, such as Bacons Rebellion, and slavery one of the most debated topics in the history of the United States of America. The different problems that occurred in the past has molded into what is the United States of America, the reflection in the past provides the vast amount of effort made by the settlers to make a place that was worth living on and worth exploring.
During American colonization, the economy of the south became predominantly dependent on the tobacco plant. As the south continued to develop, they shifted their focus to cotton. Indentured servants as well as African slaves were used for these labor-intensive crops because their labor was decent and cheap (Shi and Tindall 39). Young British men were promised a life of freedom in America if they agreed to an exchange between a free voyage and labor for a fixed number of years. Many willing, able-bodied, and young men signed up with the hopes of establishing a bright future for themselves in America. Unbeknownst to them, indentured servitude was not as easy as it was made out to be. Many servants endured far worse experiences than they had ever imagined. The physical and emotional conditions they faced were horrible, their masters overworked them, and many had to do unprofessional work instead of work that enabled them to use their own personal skills. Young British men felt that because they faced such horrible circumstances, the exchange between a free voyage to America in exchange for servitude was not a proper trade.
Before the 1680's, indentured servitude was the primary source of labor in the newly developed colonies. There were both white and black indentured servants. White servants had even outnumbered black servants three to one. Some black indentured servants were able to complete there time of service, and even had land and servants of their own. After the 1680's, the population of white indentured servants decreased exponentially. There were a number of different reasons why the population of indentured servants had decreased. For whatever reason, indentured servitude was a form of labor that was declining, and the need for labor increased rapidly. #
There are many aspects contributing to the rise of slavery and decline of indentured servitude. The beginning of slavery started when Columbus invaded Hispaniola and enslaved the Arawaks . This was the first time people thought to enslave people against their will for labor. Hard labor and diseases nearly killed off their race, essentially concluding that they were no longer available candidates for labor. Indentured servitude was used as bait to lure people into enslavement and eventually began to fade due to multiple historical events, such as The Bacon Rebellion . African Americans became an easy target because they were less prone to diseases and their bodies were capable of such intense and difficult labor. As slavery began to rise in popularity certain laws were passed through Congress that supported slavery.
In many ways the lives indentured servants led in the colonies was seemingly privileged compared to that of a slaves. An indentured servant was an individual who had exchanged a predetermined number of years in servitude to their new masters (Faragher 2009, p. 55). Some indentured servants worked out the terms of their agreement prior to arrival. While some of the less fortunate servants were sold in a fashion similar to that of a slave (cummings, 1995). The servants who had pre-established contracts were transferred to their new masters after payment was rendered for their passage to the New World (Faragher 2009, p. 55). The term in which the servant was indebted was usually two to seven years (Faragher 2009, p. 55). However, the Masters had the upper hand because they could expand the length of servitude in accordance to bad behaviors, such as running away or becoming pregnant ("Colonial america,").
As the need for labor grew in Jamestown, the colonists turned to indentured servants. Indentured servants were English people that lived poorly in England. The person would work for a wealthy merchant or farmer in the New World for about 7 years for a passage to the New World. At the end of the 7 year contract, there were ‘freedom dues.’ The servants wo...
Both these labor systems were introduced for the same reason, which was the need for more laborers. Plantation owners that grew tobacco required more workers since tobacco took intense labor and they needed people who were willing to perform this work. Using slaves and indentured servants were the owners’ ways of fulfilling these requirements because they were accessible and most of the workers could tolerate the living conditions in the South, compared to the frail Indians who died on contact with Whites. Regardless of this similarity slavery and indentured servitude shared, plantation owners still had different methods of going about to obtain their workers. While indentured slaves were imported from England at their own will, African slaves were captured and put on crowded ships, forced to endure the suffering of the “middle passage,” which is the transatlantic sea voyage that brought these slaves to the New
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 servant at the completion of his term.
The slave trade into the United States began in 1620 with the sale of nineteen Africans to a colony called “Virginia”. These slaves were brought to America on a Dutch ship and were sold as indentured slaves. An Indentured slave is a person who has an agreement to serve for a specific amount of time and will no longer be a servant once that time has passed, they would be “free”. Some indentured slaves were not only Africans but poor or imprisoned whites from England. The price of their freedom did not come free.
May, Robert. “Lesson 6: The Early Modern Period.” English 110S Course Notes. Queen’s University. Kingston. Summer 2010. Course Manual.
The role of an indentured servant in the 1700s was not a glamorous one. They came to the New World knowing that, for a time, they would be slaves for someone they did not know and the risk of disease and death was high, but the opportunity that laid ahead of them after their time of servitude was worth everything to these settlers of the New World. They came to America for the same reasons as all of the other settlers. Religious freedom, land, wealth, and a new start were motives for both settlers and indentured servants but the one thing separating most settlers from the indentured servants was that they could afford their voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. Indentured servants couldn’t buy their ticket to the New World, but that didn’t stop
When America was first founded the colonists believed that they could do one of two things. They could either ask for entire families and groups of people to come over from England to start family farms and businesses to help the colony prosper. The other option was to take advantage of the lower class people and promise them land and freedom for a couple of years of servitude (Charles Johnson et al, Africans in America 34). Obviously the second option was used and this was the start of indentured servitude in colonial America. The indentured servants that came from England were given plenty of accommodations in exchange for their servitude. They were also promised that after their time of service was complete that they would receive crops, land, and clothing to start their new found lives in America. Men, children, and even most criminals, rushed to the ports hoping to be able to find work in America and soon start their new life. However, a large quantity of them either died on the voyage over, died from diseases, or died from the intensity of their work, before their servitude was complete (Johnson et al, Africans, 34). America finally began to show signs of prosperity due to the crop, tobacco. The only problem now was that the majorit...
Rediker, Marcus. The Slave Ship A Human History. New York, New York: Penguin Group, 2007. Print.
Slavery is defined as a person being owned by someone, a state of bondage, servitude, or work performed under harsh conditions for little or no pay. Both continental African slavery and external commercial slavery deprived people of freedom. Continental slavery focused on adding people to a group to be productive members of the society and for other reasons beside monetary benefits. External slavery consisted of obtaining slaves for monetary means while inducing physical, emotional as well as psychological detriment to ensure compliance (Reader, 1997). With the emergence of European colonies, a system of trade with American Indians was created ...
and Writers. 4th ed. Ed. John Schlib and John Clifford. Bedford. Boston: Bedford, 2009. 1526-1561. Print.