Indentured servants were crucial to the production of their staple crop, to the extent that the loss of a single servant could jeopardize and entire crop. Servants also were known to negotiate for better compensation and lash out without their needs met. These issues were a key factor in the gradual growth of African slavery in Virginia in the seventeenth century. But from the 1670s, when the arrival of African slaves began representing a portion of Virginia’s labor force, controlling the remaining servants became even more strenuous. Officials then transferred the contracts over to individuals with estates who reimbursed the Virginia Company. This is where the servitude of workers under private parties originated. African slaves proposed a permanent solution giving Virginia’s landowners prime capital. Replacing indentured servants with slaves projected to ensure capital and advancement in the labor market. Increased importation of African slaves to Virginia was a pivotal factor in establishing a stable economic and political structure where this self-governed colony monopolized economic, social, and political
Indentured servants were crucial to the production of their staple crop, to the extent that the loss of a single servant could jeopardize and entire crop. Servants also were known to negotiate for better compensation and lash out without their needs met. These issues were a key factor in the gradual growth of African slavery in Virginia in the seventeenth century. But from the 1670s, when the arrival of African slaves began representing a portion of Virginia’s labor force, controlling the remaining servants became even more strenuous. Officials then transferred the contracts over to individuals with estates who reimbursed the Virginia Company. This is where the servitude of workers under private parties originated. African slaves proposed a permanent solution giving Virginia’s landowners prime capital. Replacing indentured servants with slaves projected to ensure capital and advancement in the labor market. Increased importation of African slaves to Virginia was a pivotal factor in establishing a stable economic and political structure where this self-governed colony monopolized economic, social, and political