Indenture Delete Demanded Field For Free

A contract was written that stipulated the length of service ? typically five years. The servant would be supplied room and board while working in the master's fields. Upon completion of the contract, the servant would receive "freedom dues," a pre-arranged termination bonus.

Indentured Servitude Indentured servants were not paid wages but they were generally housed, clothed, and fed. The rights to the individual's labor could be bought and sold, but the servants themselves were not considered property and were free upon the end of their indenture (usually a period of five to seven years).

Many landowners also felt threatened by newly freed servants demand for land. The colonial elite realized the problems of indentured servitude. Landowners turned to African slaves as a more profitable and ever-renewable source of labor and the shift from indentured servants to racial slavery had begun.

Despite some similarities to enslavement, indentured servants ultimately attained their freedom once they completed their contract, while enslaved people were permanently denied their freedom unless they could obtain the means to purchase themselves or successfully escape.

Indentured servants were men and women who willingly signed a contract in which they agreed to work for a certain number of years to compensate for their voyage to America. Three different types of indentured servant agreements existed in the 18th century: free-willers, King's passengers, and redemptioners.

Servants typically worked four to seven years in exchange for passage, room, board, lodging and freedom dues. While the life of an indentured servant was harsh and restrictive, it wasn't slavery. There were laws that protected some of their rights.

It has been estimated that an indentured servant working four acres of corn and tending 1,000 tobacco plants would bend over at least 50,000 times during servitude. In addition to the hard labor, indentured servants were often subject to violence at the hands of their masters, occasionally even resulting in death.

The indentured servants were often treated harshly. Physical punishments such as whippings were common, and in fact, many of the indentured servants died before their term of service was completed. Others ran away. Servants who ran away and were caught had their term of service extended.

Slavery replaced indentured servitude in the colonies in the 1660s because purchasing slaves became more economical for planters. Life expectancy in the Chesapeake and Southern colonies had increased, which meant that indentured servants were living long enough to fulfill their terms of indenture.

Many landowners also felt threatened by newly freed servants demand for land. The colonial elite realized the problems of indentured servitude. Landowners turned to African slaves as a more profitable and ever-renewable source of labor and the shift from indentured servants to racial slavery had begun.