Indentured Servitude

Definition

Indentured servitude was a form of labor contract in which a person (usually an immigrant) agreed to work for a fixed period of time, typically 4-7 years, in exchange for passage to the American colonies. This system provided labor for the colonies and a means of travel for those who could not afford the voyage on their own.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Indentured servitude was a common labor system in the American colonies, particularly in the 17th and 18th centuries, as it provided a steady supply of workers for plantation owners and other employers.
2. Indentured servants were often poor Europeans, including English, Irish, Scottish, and German immigrants, who could not afford the cost of passage to the colonies.
3. The headright system incentivized colonial landowners to import indentured servants by granting them 50 acres of land for each servant brought to the colonies.
4. Indentured servants had more rights than enslaved Africans, as they were bound by a contract and could eventually gain their freedom after completing their term of service.
5. The decline of indentured servitude in the late 18th century was due in part to the growing availability of enslaved Africans, who provided a more reliable and permanent labor force for plantation owners.

Review Questions

• Explain how the indentured servitude system provided labor and transportation for the American colonies.
  • The indentured servitude system was a mutually beneficial arrangement between the colonies and European immigrants. The colonies gained a steady supply of labor, as indentured servants agreed to work for a fixed period of time, typically 4-7 years, in exchange for their passage to America. This allowed the colonies to develop their economies and infrastructure. For the immigrants, indentured servitude provided a means of travel to the colonies that they could not have afforded otherwise, giving them the opportunity to start a new life in the New World.
• Describe the relationship between the headright system and the use of indentured servants in the colonies.
  • The headright system was a policy that incentivized colonial landowners to import indentured servants by granting them 50 acres of land for each servant they brought to the colonies. This created a strong demand for indentured labor, as landowners sought to acquire more land and expand their holdings. The headright system, combined with the availability of European immigrants willing to work as indentured servants, helped fuel the growth of the colonial economy and the development of the plantation system in regions like the Chesapeake and the Carolinas.
• Analyze the decline of indentured servitude and its relationship to the rise of slavery in the American colonies.
  • The decline of indentured servitude in the late 18th century was partly due to the growing availability of enslaved Africans, who provided a more reliable and permanent labor force for plantation owners. As the demand for labor increased, especially in the Southern colonies, plantation owners found that the fixed-term nature of indentured servitude was less desirable than the lifelong, hereditary nature of slavery. This shift towards a reliance on enslaved labor had significant consequences for the social, economic, and political development of the American colonies, as the institution of slavery became deeply entrenched and central to the colonial economy.

Related terms

Indenture: A legal contract that bound an indentured servant to work for a specific period of time in exchange for their travel expenses to the colonies.

Headright System: A policy in colonial America that granted landowners 50 acres of land for each indentured servant they brought to the colonies.

Slavery:

A system of forced labor in which people were considered property and forced to work without pay for the rest of their lives.