History Of Indentured Servitude

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Indentured Servitude were men and women who signed a contract that stated the agreement that the servants would work for a fixed amount of years. The amount of years depended on age, sex and race. To pay for the cost of the passage to America servants would sign contracts that stated they needed to work for a fixed amount of years typically four to seven, In exchange for passage to the New world from England, the early settlers promised the servants housing, food, and clothing. At the end of their term the servants would receive freedom dues which were, at times money, tobacco or guns. During the 1650’s is when indentured servitude began to impact the economic system in the south, due to armed servants, cost of servants, and the rise of wage …show more content…
All negro, mulatto and Indian slaves within this dominion… shall be held to be real estate. If any slave resists his master…correcting such slave, and shall happen to be killed in such correction…the master shall be free of all punishment… as if such accident never happened.” –Virginia general assembly declaration, 1705.
Servants went through harsh conditions during their servitude. The harsh treatment of laborers contributed to the decline of servitude. Because of the harsh conditions servants would often times attempt to run away. Servants would contract deadly diseases in their stay in Virginia. That they had only contracted once they arrived in the colonies. Servants did not eat a substantial amount of food they ate very to little food ,a former indentured servant, Richard Frethorne writes a letter to his parents to inform them of his treatment and his experience in his time of …show more content…
After servants were freed masters felt threatened. The Virginia Company began to place restrictions on available lands that the freed servants requested. When servants first agreed to their labor work and signed their contract, they were promised land after they would gain freedom. Once the servants completed their servitude. Masters would place restrictions and former servants had a hard time negotiating potential lands with their former master, which led to disputes between former servants and masters. The former servants later joined the frontier of Bacons Rebellion that occurred in

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